Breaking: Upbeat Portsmouth refusing to give up on signing popular Norwich man

That’s the upbeat message from Rich Hughes, who is not yet ready to close the door, despite the talented winger appearing to have a future at parent club Norwich.

Following their failure to win promotion through the Championship play-offs, the Canaries appointed Johannes Hoff Thorup in May, with the indications Kamara may subsequently be handed more first-team opportunities.

In addition, the attacker earned maiden England Under-20 recognition this summer to reflect his rising reputation.

Nonetheless, Hughes continues to hold out hope the Blues can bring him back to Fratton Park for the forthcoming Championship campaign.

The sporting director told The News: ‘We would never want to rule that out because if we could find a scenario to bring Abu back, we’d absolutely love to.

‘The truth is he exceeded a lot of expectations and performed to a really high level last season, which personally puts him into a really strong position.

‘We’ll just have to see how his pre-season (with Norwich) pans it and stay close to it and stay close to all the conversations.

‘It’s going to be very difficult based on the success he’s had, but I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand at this point.

‘If there was an opportunity where the player became available, considering how he enjoyed working with the group of players and the coaching staff and being at the club, I think that would be an attractive option for him, if something came up again.’

Kamara’s maiden loan away from Carrow Road proved to be a revelation, flourishing during his time with the League One champions and establishing himself as a key performer.

He featured in every Pompey match last season, scoring 10 goals in 52 matches - and the club would relish a potential return.