FC Midtjylland loanee Rasmus Nicolaisen: I may leave Portsmouth in January if I'm not playing

Rasmus Nicolaisen revealed he could quit Fratton Park in January if he is deprived of regular first-team football.
Rasmus Nicolaisen is concerned over his lack of first-team opportunities since arriving from FC Midtjylland. Picture: Joe PeplerRasmus Nicolaisen is concerned over his lack of first-team opportunities since arriving from FC Midtjylland. Picture: Joe Pepler
Rasmus Nicolaisen is concerned over his lack of first-team opportunities since arriving from FC Midtjylland. Picture: Joe Pepler

The Danish defender is on a season-long loan at Fratton Park from FC Midtjylland.

However, there is a recall clause in January, a standard agreement in long-term loans which span two transfer windows.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nicolaisen started Saturday’s 6-1 rout of King’s Lynn – and opened the scoring after just one minute and 48 seconds.

It represented his fifth start and eighth appearance overall since joining the Blues in September.

However, the 23-year-old admitted he is concerned over lack of opportunities having primarily joined Pompey to play regularly.

He told The News: ‘I want to stay here for the season but, of course, everyone knows that I want to play.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘That’s why I’m here, but we’ll see what happens. There are a lot of games between now and January.

‘Of course, I am here to play and if I’m not playing then I can’t see why I should be here.

‘It’s not a lot of games since I was in the team and doing well. Then I had a half struggling (against Plymouth) with the whole team struggling.

‘For sure the team is doing well and there are some good defenders in the team, but I know what I can bring and will do everything to show everyone what I can do.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘It’s a hard conversation (about other defenders), but it’s a good thing in a great club. They are decent players.’

Nicolaisen insists he has settled in the city with his wife and young son.

Yet it has been footballing reasons which saw him seek a temporary move away from FC Midtjylland in search of regular match minutes.

Read More
For the latest Pompey news direct to your inbox sign up for our free newsletter

He arrived at Fratton Park to challenge Jack Whatmough and Sean Raggett for a centre-half spot.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When Whatmough was sidelined by a hamstring problem, started three matches.

Yet he made way at half-time against Plymouth after struggling in the opening 45 minutes, to be replaced by the fit-again Whatmough.

Still, the 23-year-old returned to the side against King’s Lynn on Saturday, among five changes as Kenny Jackett rotated his squad.

And Nicolaisen enjoyed his second FA Cup outing, following his bow in the 3-2 win at Ipswich earlier this month.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He added: ‘It’s a good cup, I always follow it from Denmark and now I’m playing in it.

‘I like that and I like English football. Of course I am happy with the goal and my win.

‘Scoring so early helped loosen it up a bit. I know we were the big favourites, so the pressure was on us, but I think we did what it takes and that’s good.

‘We scored six goals, two defenders, but we could have got a lot more, including me. In the last second I hit the outside of the post.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The News has launched a new subscription offer which gives you unlimited access to all of our Pompey coverage, starting at less than £1 a week.

You can subscribe here to get the latest news and transfer updates from Fratton Park - and to support our local team of expert Pompey writers.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.