Concern is raised about Portsmouth midfielder's Fratton Park future amid West Brom, Huddersfield and Birmingham City links

That’s the verdict of The News’ chief sports writer, Neil Allen, who believes the midfielder could leave Fratton Park on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The Blues have offered the 22-year-old a new deal, after taking up a 12-month option on the former West Ham and Charlton player last summer.

But Mingi – who is presently out with a knee injury – remains one of 14 current senior first-team players, including loanees, who are now into the final five months of their existing PO4 contracts.

And with Championship sides West Brom, Birmingham and Huddersfield linked with the exciting talent back in January, Allen fears a move away from Pompey could be on the cards.

Speaking in the latest edition of Pompey Talk, he said: ‘It’s been his (Mingi’s) breakthrough season and he’s been really impressive

‘Unfortunately, he got injured at the wrong time, otherwise we would have seen a lot more of him.

‘Pompey want to keep him and have offered him a new deal. They’ll get compensation (if he goes), but he’s only been with the club two years and there’s doubts over how much that will be.

‘They want to keep him, but he’s been linked with the likes of West Brom, so we’ll see how that develops.

‘It will be disappointing if he does go. But, again, it’s the player’s decision.

‘You can’t force players to stay at a football club, no matter how much you want it.

‘I spoke to Michael Doyle about Enda Stevens at the Lincoln game on Saturday and he was saying it was a shame that they (the club) couldn’t keep the Pompey squad together to go again in League One (following their 2016-17 League Two title win).

‘But he admitted, he thought Enda was always going to go. If Pompey had offered him something in January, it might have been different.

‘But he was going to go at the end of the season, his stock had risen, and you can’t force players to sign new contracts.

‘You can’t have a go at owners, don’t have a go at the manager, it’s down to the players.

‘If, for example, West Brom is accurate and Mingi goes there – they’re in the Championship, they’ve got more money, what can you do?

‘We’ll see how that pans out. But will he get the games at West Brom that he would get at Pompey? That’s something the player and his agent have to consider.’

Mingi has made 26 appearances for the Blues this season in what has been a memorable first full season for him at Fratton Park.

A knee injury picked up in training means he hasn’t featured for Pompey since New Year’s Day.

But he should be on hand soon to help fill the gap that Marlon Pack has left following news of his knee problems.

That will please the Fratton faithful, who have been impressed with Mingi this term.

And Allen admitted it will disappoint a lot of people if the player were to seek a new challenge at the end of the season.

He added: ‘The club have privately and publicly said they want to keep him.

‘They’ve offered him a new deal but he’ll be one of the lowest paid in the squad, I’d imagine.

‘So, yeah, it’s up to the player what he wants but you can’t predict how negotiations are going to go.

‘We would all like him to stay as he’s a really exciting young player.’