Danny Cowley sees a second former Portsmouth player leave Colchester during transfer window

Just weeks after seeing Jay Mingi swap the League Two U’s for Stockport, the former Blues boss has also seen Cameron McGeehan move away from the JobServe Community Stadium.

The midfielder, who Kenny Jackett brought to Pompey on loan from Barnsley for the second half of the 2019-20 season, has joined Northampton on a free transfer after turning down a new contract at Colchester.

That will come as a disappointment to Cowley, with the midfielder registering 10 goals and five assists as the U’s narrowly avoided relegation to the National League last season. Yet the former Fratton Park manager has already softened the blow by bringing in Jack Payne - a player he was linked with during his time at PO4 - following his Charlton release.

Speaking to BBC Essex, Cowley said: ‘Cameron McGeehan won’t be coming back. 

‘So we’ve had really open communications with Cam. He’s a player I think did really well for the club last year. Even in the difficult position he found himself in, to score double figures from midfield in a team that’s struggled, I think is to be commended.

‘He’s a good kid and he works incredibly hard against the ball as well. We’ve a lot of respect for Cam but I think he sees his future elsewhere.’

McGeehan has signed a two-year deal with the League One Cobblers, who are his 10th club after coming through the ranks at Fulham.

His Pompey loan stint from Barnsley came before his move to Belgian top-flight side Oostende in 2020, whom he was with until his move to Colchester last summer.

Recruited by Jackett in the January 2020 transfer window alongside Steve Seddon and Reeco Hackett to bolster the Blues’ promotion hopes, McGeehan was seen as an exciting capture.

He ended up playing 12 times for Pompey in the league, with 10 of those appearances coming as starts. However, his last game for the Blues saw him miss a penalty as Jackett & Co missed out on promotion back to the Championship following their play-off semi-final shoot-out defeat at the hands of Oxford at the Kassam Stadium.

Despite losing both Mingi and McGeehan during the transfer window, Cowley has maintained the Pompey connection at the U’s. He brought in keeper Matt Macey earlier in the summer, following his Fratton Park departure.