£500,000 Portsmouth striker's League One struggles continue amid Blues’ attacking injury crisis
Pompey striker Makenzie Kirk has scored just one goal in eight appearances during a frustrating loan stint at Barnsley.
Pompey have huge injury concerns in attack ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Wolves.
He joins fellow striker Thomas Waddingham on the sidelines, while wingers Josh Murphy, Keshi Anderson, Luke Brooke-Smith and Franco Umeh are all also out.
This presently leaves Tyrese Shade and Marko Milovanovic as John Mousinho’s sole number nine options, although the Blues are still managing the latter's fitness.
Pompey loanee’s League One struggles continue
Amid their ongoing fitness problems in attack, one striker is currently struggling away from Fratton Park in League One.
Makenzie Kirk’s frustrations with Barnsley are continuing, with the Blues loanee a missing figure in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Cambridge United.
Having been ruled out of the Tykes’ 3-1 reverse to Stockport County a week prior due to illness, the 22-year-old was once again left out of Daniel Stendel’s 18-man squad, despite making his return to training last week.
The Northern Ireland youth international now finds himself down the German’s pecking order at Oakwell for a Barnsley side who have scored just nine League One goals this term - the fourth lowest in the division.
In fact, new signing Toby Adeyemo was thrown straight into the attack on Saturday just two days after his free transfer signing, subsequently leaving no place for Kirk in the side.
The young attacker has featured eight times for the Tykes since his summer switch, but has been substituted at half-time in four of those and was an unused substitute in the final two matches before the international break.
Despite a strong camp with Northern Ireland’s U21s, where he skippered the side on two occasions against Malta and Georgia, Kirk is presently out of the picture at Oakwell as his loan frustrations continue.
The striker arrived at Fratton Park in September 2025 on a £500,000 deal from St Johnstone, but was limited to a bit-part role in his maiden Championship campaign.
Pompey’s attacking injury issues
He scored just one goal in his 14 appearances for Mousinho’s troops, who later sanctioned a loan exit in July prior to the multi-million pound arrival of Milovanovic.
Pompey are still managing the Serbian’s fitness after a calf issue forced him to miss the final two matches before the international break last month, but has since returned to feature in all three league games after the stoppage.
He was forced to pull out in the warm-ups at Carrow Road, with Mousinho revealing the 29-year-old had picked up a knee injury.
This will likely leave Marezi and Shade as the head coach’s sole options in attack against Wolves, with Pompey currently enduring an early-season injury crisis.