Portsmouth transfer gossip: Blues 'monitoring' development of Ipswich Town and Peterborough target

Pompey have reportedly joined the race to sign Altrincham’s Chris Conn-Clarke. Reports from FootballTransfers have revealed that the Blues, Ipswich Town, Mansfield Town and Peterborough are all ‘monitoring’ the development of the forward who has been enjoying a sensation first season with the National League side.

Fratton Park are set to have a busy summer in the transfer market as they strengthen their squad ahead of their long-awaited Championship return. Ten players were released from Fratton Park, including Sean Raggett and Joe Rafferty who had been integral to the club’s promotion-achieving season, and head coach John Mousinho is eyeing potential recruits to aid the club’s ‘step up into the next level’.

Conn-Clarke, 22, joined Altrincham on a club-record move from Fleetwood Town last summer and has gone on to score 23 goals for the side. He’s also been named in the Vanarama National League Team of the Season for 2023/24, which has seen him catch the attention of several higher league teams, including the soon-to-be Premier League side Ipswich.

The midfielder’s performances have also prompted notice from the Northern Ireland national squad and the 22-year-old has previously been part of the U21s set-up, making six appearances for them and scoring once.

The Pompey target finished as the fourth top-goal scorer in the league and contributed a further 12 assists for the side. While Conn-Clarke is contracted to the Greater Manchester side until 2026, he is expected to depart the Moss Lane club in the upcoming transfer window.

Altrincham ended just their second season as a professional outfit with a place in the National League play-off semi-finals, ultimately losing 3-1 to Bromley. Speaking to The Messenger, the Robins’ head coach Phil Parkinson is already eyeing up a spot at promotion next season, despite knowing he will be losing several key figures, potentially including Conn-Clarke.

“To reach the play-off semi-finals in our second season as a professional club is phenomenal”, Parkinson said. “Like a fairy tale, only without a happy ending.We are going in the right direction, but we have to keep building.

“To keep moving forward, we are going to have to reinvest in the squad. We don’t have an embarrassment of riches, but if we lose one or two, the players coming in must be at least as good, if not better.”