Portsmouth boss to make decision over ex-West Ham United and Charlton Athletic man's future as clubs line up for deal

The Blues boss has revealed a stack of League Two and National League clubs are keen on signing the 21-year-old on loan.

But Cowley hasn't ruled out bringing the former Charlton man into his first-team set-up, after taking up an option to extend his Fratton Park stay.

Mingi spent the first half of the season on loan at Maidenhead in the fifth tier, before returning in the new year and picking up three outings towards the end of the season.

Cowley has laid down a challenge for the the former West Ham academy product to return for pre-season next month on powerful shape, before he will decide what the plan is with him.

Cowley said: ‘There’s a lot of clubs at National League and League Two level who are very interested in taking Jay on loan.

‘We just have to get the right pathway for him now moving forward.

‘We would ideally like him to fight his way into our team.

‘So it’s going to be an important close season and pre-season for him.’

Although being fairly limited in terms of first-team involvement at Pompey, Cowley feels it would be wrong to rule out involving Mingi in his set-up at this stage.

He has seen first hand how younger squad members can make great strides when they weren’t necessarily expected.

Cowley cited Harry Toffolo as an example of a player who exploded in terms of his development, after a period where his progress had been unspectacular at Lincoln.

He said: ‘We never like to put a ceiling on what our young players can achieve.

‘From my experience progress doesn’t take place in a straight line.

‘I remember Harry Toffolo when we got promoted from League Two at Lincoln.

‘He was a regular, but you wouldn’t have said he was a standout player in that team.

‘Then he came back for pre-season and it was like he’d hit a springboard.

‘The development he then made was incredible, we later signed him for Huddersfield and he’s now a game away from the Premier League.

‘Even if Huddersfield don’t get there, I’d anticipate him playing at that level next season.

‘So I’d never put a ceiling on a player’s potential.

‘The challenge for Jay is to come back as the best version of himself – and we’ll pick what we see.’