Kenny Jackett discusses fans' favourite's future with Portsmouth holding contract extension option

The fans’ favourite has been a key player in the Blues’ latest League One promotion push.

Cannon’s made 31 appearances this season and has firmly established himself in the engine room alongside Tom Naylor.

The midfielder’s contract expires at the end of the campaign and he recently told The News he’s keen to remain at Fratton Park.

To Pompey’s advantage, they hold the option to extend Cannon’s stay by 12 months, after he penned a two-and-a-half year deal when arriving from Rochdale in January 2019.

And Jackett hinted the Blues will exercise that clause when the time is right.

The Pompey boss said: ‘We're in a good position in the league at the moment and want the focus to stay on that.

‘That is important but we also want to keep our assets.

‘We have paid £150,000 for Andy Cannon a couple of years ago and watched him develop into the player that he is this season, which is a good one.

‘Not just me, but a lot of people at the club have worked very, very hard to help Andy's development and we want to benefit from that in the future.

‘With the age he is, he is a good player and is settled for us.

‘We understand the situation. No, not at the moment (Pompey will exercise the option), we're focusing on upcoming games.

‘But we are looking all of the time and are in constant conversation about the bigger picture and planning for next season.’

With the League One salary cap now scrapped, Pompey can finally explore the idea of retaining their key men.

In total, 11 players’ contracts expire at the end of the season.

Among them are captain Tom Naylor, Jack Whatmough, Ryan Williams, Craig MacGillivray and Cannon.

Jackett’s proud of the progress the 24-year-old has made in the two years he’s been on the south coast.

Now Pompey’s boss wants Cannon to continue to flourish at PO4.

He added: ‘We want our better players, of course, to stay. Andy is having a good season and we want that to continue.

‘A lot of people have worked very hard with him and he's producing very good performances at the moment for us.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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