Transfer Gossip: Portsmouth in battle with Derby, Bolton and Wrexham for 30-goal Northern Ireland hotshot

Pompey have 'registered their interest' in last season's Northern Ireland Premiership joint-top scorer.

According to Football Insider, the Blues are keen on Cliftonville hotsot Ronan Hale, who bagged 30 goals in all competitions last term for the north Belfast side. But there's supposedly a host of other clubs interested in bringing the former Birmingham City forward back across the water - with Derby, Bolton, Blackpool, Peterborough and Wrexham all apparently keen to strike a deal during the January transfer window.

The Northern Ireland market is one Pompey clearly know well, having signed Terry Devlin from Glentoran last summer. They were also linked with a move for Larne striker Lee Bonis in 2023, yet that was quickly dismissed by Pompey, who bolstered their striking options with the summer arrivals of Kusini Yengi and Christian Saydee.

The News are yet to contact the Fratton Park club about the latest player from across the Irish Sea to be linked with the project at PO4, But according to Football Insider, Hale is a player they've been keeping an eye on as he continues to impress.

Having missed the first 11 games of the season, the former Crusaders marksman, who can also play as an attacking midfielder, has scored 11 goals in 14 games for Cliftonville, including a hat-trick in the Red's Irish Cup win against Coleraine on Friday night.

At Birmingham, the front man scored 28 goals in 23 under-21/23 games for the St Andrew's club before having his contract mutually terminated in 2019.

Pompey top-scorer, Colby Bishop, has 13 goals in 28 appearances this season. Kusini Yengi, who is currently away on international duty with Australia, has seven goals from 17 appearances, with fellow striker Christian Saydee yet to score in the league from 22 outings.