Massive ex-Portsmouth favourite and one-time £1.5m Fratton Park target learn their fates as Burton and MK Dons announce retained lists

Former Blues keeper and Fratton favourite, Craig MacGillivray, has been offered a new contract to remain at Burton Albion.

Meanwhile, Mo Eisa – the subject of a failed £1.5m bid from Pompey in 2018 – has seen an option on his contract activated by newly-relegated MK Dons.

It means the 28-year-old striker will now have to prepare himself for life in League Two, unless a club stumps up the cash to lure him away from Stadium MK.

The Dons broke their transfer record for the front man when they signed him Peterborough in 2021, with Posh also forking out a club record fee when they purchased the player from Bristol City two years earlier.

And with Eisa bagging 26 goals in 78 appearances for MK, they’re sure to want some sort of return if they decide to cash in on the front man this summer.

Incidentally, Pompey lost out to Bristol City when the striker left Cheltenham in 2018, after scoring 25 goals in 50 appearances for the then League Two Robins.

However, the move didn’t work out, with Eisa making just six appearances for the Ashton Gate side before being sold to Peterborough in 2019.

Since then, he’s scored seven goals in four appearances against the Blues – including an equaliser for MK Dons against Pompey this Easter, when Pompey’s slim play-off hopes began to unravel.

The Dons have also activated a clause in defender Zak Jules’ contract. However, Tennai Watson, Josh McEachran, Sullay Kaikai, Bradley Johnson, Franco Ravozzili, David Martin, Edward Gyamfi, Jack Davies and Lewis Johnson will all depart.

A similar number have been released by Burton, who will say goodbye to 10 players upon the expiry of their Pirelli Stadium contracts – Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Ben Radcliffe, Thierry Latty-Fairweather, William Kokolo, Louis Moult, Chris McCann, Sam Winnall, Ben Garratt, Jonny Smith and Callum Hawkins.

However, Brewers boss Dino Maamria wants MacGillivray to stay and has offered the 30-year-old a new contract.

The Scot moved to Burton from Charlton on a free transfer in January, penning a six-month deal.

In that time, the 2020-21 Pompey player of the season featured 19 times for the club, keeping seven cleans. That helped the Brewers finish 15th in the table.

Burton have also offered new deals to Mustapha Carayol, Tom Hewlett, Jakub Niemczyk, Tom Hamer, Deji Oshilja, Conor Shaughnessy and Terry Taylor. Although, just like Blues midfielder Jay Mingi, there’s no guarantee that MacGillivray & Co will remain at the club.

Former Pompey striker Gassan Ahadme will return to Ipswich after one goal in seven Brewers appearances following his loan move in January.