Transfer gossip: Portsmouth transfer interest in Arsenal forward revealed as deal for Liverpool youngster set to be completed

Pompey reportedly had an interest in signing Ismeal Kabia this month - but the teenager will be staying with Arsenal.

Award-winning journalist Isaan Khan said in a post on X that the Gunners were initially looking to loan out Kabia this month, with interest from various clubs - including Pompey. Their position has since changed, though, and the 19-year-old will remain in North London for the time being.

A move to the Blues, or any of the other unnamed clubs interested in him, would have represented a first loan move of his career. Instead the winger will continue to develop under the watchful eye of Mikel Arteta and their under-21s boss Mehmet Ali.

Ismael Kabia’s profile

Kabia is a teenage wide player who was born in Hengelo in the Netherlands. He's able to play for Sierra Leone at international level and has been in England since the age of nine. He's a right-footed player but is capable of playing on either flank.

As a youngster, he turned out for teams like Chatham Riverside and Sittingbourne Lions before signing terms with Arsenal. To date, he's made one senior appearance for the club, which came against Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup back in September.

Mikel Arteta has kept him in and around the first team, naming Kabia as a substitute for their match against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League last month. The 19-year-old hasn't yet played in the league under the Spaniard but he has been an unused substitute on six occasions.

At age-grade level, he’s played 45 times for the under-18, under-21, and UEFA Youth League teams with a record of four goals and nine assists. Kabia was on target against Leyton Orient in the EFL Trophy earlier this season which highlights his ability to play against senior teams.

Pompey’s loan quota

The Blues are poised to complete the signing of Kaide Gordon from Liverpool on deadline day. John Mousinho wasn't actively looking for something but the opportunity to sign the winger popped up and it looks like they will be taking it.

The 20-year-old spent the first half of the season on loan at Norwich City, scoring once in 10 appearances. Gordon didn't start many matches and so the Reds hope that he will get more game time down on the south coast.

What his arrival does do is provide Mousinho a selection headache. EFL rules state that teams are only allowed to name five loan players in a match-day squad. Once Gordon’s move is confirmed they will have six players who are being borrowed from elsewhere.

Freddie Potts is a first-team regular and is enjoying a beneficial loan spell from West Ham United. Adil Aouchiche joined from Sunderland on Friday and is expected to play a big role between now and the end of the season.

Isaac Hayden and Rob Atkinson joined at the start of January and offer some much-needed experience in the relegation battle. Mark O’Mahony is also on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion but he has missed the past two months because of injury.

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