Portsmouth confident of tying up deal for Barnsley midfielder Cameron McGeehan

The Blues are upbeat over the prospects of the midfielder being at Fratton Park once again next season.

A temporary move for the 25-year-old now appears the only avenue to pursue, with Pompey unable to finance a permanent agreement for the Barnsley man.

McGeehan has 12 months of his existing deal remaining at Oakwell and is believed to command wages of around £6,000 a week.

There’s no way Pompey would be able to match those terms with a wage cap of £2.5m being proposed by the EFL in League One.

But they could shoulder a portion of McGeehan’s wages to ensure he’s back in a blue shirt once again next season, with around £4,000 a week expected to be their contribution.

Their hopes of bringing in the Luton man have been bolstered by Barnsley’s dramatic final-day escape in the Championship on Wednesday night.

Gehard Struber’s completed an unlikely survival bid with a stoppage-time victory at Premier League-chasing Brentford.

There was the chance of McGeehan being wanted by Struber in the event of the Tykes dropping down into League One next term.

The Londoner delivered steady rather than spectacular form in his 17 Pompey appearances after he agreed a move in January.

But Jackett is a huge fan of McGeehan and has made no secret of the fact he wants him at the club moving forward.

And that will remain the case even if it means paying wages which would be right at the top end of what Pompey could realistically afford to pay in the face of current EFL proposals.

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