'Definite potential': Portsmouth boss addresses transfer plans for triallist and ex-Nottingham Forest £8m man
The former winger was sold by Nottingham Forest to Almeria for £8m in September 2019
John Mousinho has hailed surprise Pompey triallist Arvin Appiah’s ‘potential’.
And the Blues plan to continue having a close look at the former £8m man in training this week.
Ex-Nottingham Forest man Appiah featured in the second half of Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Bristol Rovers, operating at left-back and then on the left wing.
With Mousinho without a recognised left-back in their squad due to Connor Ogilvie undergoing knee surgery, they have been casting their eye over the 25-year-old free agent.
And Pompey’s head coach has been encouraged by what he has seen so far.
‘There were some really promising touches early on’
Mousinho told The News: ‘He’s an option to come in and compete in that left-back spot and is a free agent.
‘It was his first minutes for a long, long time, so that’s why we brought him off at the back end of the (second) half, we gave him that bit of time.
‘There were some really promising touches early on. We’ve had him in the building for two days, so we’ll have a good look next week and see where it gets to.
‘He’s a left-back. Although he was much more of a winger when he was younger, he’s a left-back, but we pushed him up because of the way we had to go in the second half.
‘These days it’s very easy to spend half-an-hour on the laptop and you get everything you need to know about a player, so there’s plenty to go off there. There's definitely potential there in terms of the player and he’s had a decent-enough career as well.’
Former Almeria, Tenerife and Malaga player
Appiah, who has also featured for Almeria, Tenerife, Malaga and Rotherham in a much-travelled career, played a crucial part in the Blues’ leveller at Bristol Rovers.
Having initially been called upon at half-time to play left-back, the former England Under-19 international was pushed onto the left flank in the 62nd minute to accommodate Ibane Bowat’s introduction at full-back.
Trailing to Fabrizio Cavegn’s second-half opener, it was Appiah’s powerful run and shot which drew a save from Rovers’ substitute keeper Luke Southwood on 77 minutes.
Anderson was withdrawn in the 86th minute and replaced by teenager Nathaniel Chioma on the left wing, totalling 40 minutes on the pitch in his first Pompey outing.
‘Really positive’
Mousinho added: ‘He had a nice bit of involvement for the goal.
‘We had a good spell towards the back end, even with the young lads we brought on, who were much better than they’d been on Wednesday night. So that was really positive.
‘Ultimately, we are not too bothered about the result, but getting the goal was still a nice thing.’