Pompey triallist was bright Blackburn hope slowed by injury

Adam Henley was with Blackburn Rovers for 13 years until the summer.
Adam Henley in action for Blackpool against West HamAdam Henley in action for Blackpool against West Ham
Adam Henley in action for Blackpool against West Ham

In that time he made 94 appearances for the club and is a twice-capped Welsh international.

He only played three times last season, however, and none of those were after August.

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He picked up an injury and never really quite got going after that.

There were a couple of under-23 games for him.

There was a setback in the first and then he finished up the season playing at that level.

After August, though, he never got near a first-team squad again.

He signed a long deal back in 2012 when the club was in the Premier League.

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His first start for Rovers was at Liverpool marking Stewart Downing, and the next was at Old Trafford when he marked Antonio Valencia.

So there were really high hopes for him at that stage, but he’s unfortunately struggled with injury.

That eventually led to his release along with the fact there’s another young right-back doing well in Ryan Nyambe.

He was never really in the mix for a new contract, because Tony Mowbray had never worked him.

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Adam had basically been injured since the day Mowbray came through the door.

He had been on trial with Blackpool after leaving because there is the link with former Rovers manager Gary Bowyer.

I spoke to his agent in the summer and I was told there was interest from the MLS, but it doesn’t look as if anything has been agreed on that front yet.

When Adam made the breakthrough as a teenager there would have been a lot of talk about him.

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He signed that long-term deal and got a good few games under his belt.

It’s been the past few years, though, and struggling with problems last season which really curtailed his game time.

I’m sure he would’ve welcomed the chance of a fresh start. He needs to get going again.

He can play either side, right or left, is fairly athletic, quick and a modern type of full-back.

His most recent Wales came just last year, but he’s had very little game time since.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see if Portsmouth have a closer look at him.