Portsmouth transfer update: A quiet weekend for Notts County, QPR and Rotherham trio as Danny Cowley weighs up next January move

Before January got under way, Danny Cowley was aiming to bring a centre-back and a striker to Fratton Park.

And with his pursuit of a new defender complete, a front man jumps to the top of the priority list for the remaining 14 days of the transfer window.

That hasn’t stopped the club being linked with a variety of players in other positions this month.

Yet it was a relatively quiet weekend for a number of those targets as they continued their current club commitments amid ongoing transfer talk.

For example, Kyle Wootton has constantly been under the Pompey radar this month, with his goalscoring exploits for Notts County attracting interest.

But the 25-year-old was an unused substitute in the Magpies’ 2-1 FA Trophy victory over Eastleigh on Saturday.

His rare appearance on the sidelines is his first of the season and it prevented him from adding to his 14 goals this term.

QPR’s attacking midfielder, George Thomas, has also been touted for a move to Fratton Park this winter.

Yet he too was an unused substitute over the weekend, as the London club boosted their play-off credentials with a 1-0 victory over West Brom.

Thomas has made only seven Championship appearances this season, while failing to complete an entire 90 minutes for the Hoops.

Despite his lack of game time, any potential move away might be on hold with R’s boss Mark Warburton keen to keep hold of his fringe contingent.

Someone who might be on the move during the final two weeks of the window could be Rotherham’s Kieran Sadlier.

The winger wasn’t included in Paul Warne’s squad for their unexpected defeat at Fleetwood Town, after a playing 58 minutes in the FA Cup loss to QPR a week before.

And with his contract expiring in the summer, he could be available for a cut-price deal now.

Elsewhere, two January departees from Pompey were thrown straight into the action for their respective new clubs.

Former Norwich loanee Gassan Ahadme played the entirety of Burton Albion’s 3-1 victory over Gillingham, but couldn’t break his League One duck.

It was only the 21-year-old’s second 90 minutes in the third tier this campaign, after growing in anonymity under Cowley during the first half of the season.

Meanwhile. defender Paul Downing couldn’t prevent Rochdale from suffering defeat on his debut, as they were swept aside by Tranmere 2-0.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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