Attacking midfielder who came very close to joining Portsmouth is cut from Premier League club's ranks

He’s a player who came very close to joining Pompey at the end of the January 2024 transfer window.

Some eagle-eyed Blues supporters, supposedly, even spotted him at the Tesco Express near Fratton Park Park as his representatives attempted to thrash out a deal that would have seen the attacking midfielder swap Crystal Palace and the capital for Portsmouth and the south coast.

Yet the deadline day move fell through as the clock ticked down, with Jadan Raymond and his team forced to head back home without signing on the dotted line.

Issues at the Palace end and potential sell-on clauses proved to be stumbling blocks that couldn’t be navigated.

Although, it’s not clear why the Blues didn’t follow through with their reported interest last summer, with John Mousinho and sporting director Rich Hughes retaining an interest in the Eagles academy product. Perhaps the signings of Matt Ritchie, Sammy Silvera and Harvey Blair made a revisit of a prospective deal unnecesary.

Nearly 18 months on from their original interest in the Wales under-21 international being made public, though, Raymond’s circumstances have changed, with previous hurdles no longer an issue.

Indeed, on Monday it emerged that the 21-year-old’s services were no longer required at Palace, with the London-born attacker told he was free to fly the Eagles’ nest - his home from the age of eight.

Joining former Blues favourite Joel Ward on Oliver Glasner’s published retained list, Raymond was one 20 players informed they could move from Selhurst Park on a free transfer.

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Jadan Raymond’s time at Crystal Palace

Raymond failed to feature for the first team at Palace, with two Premier League substitute appearances the closest he came to representing the senior team at Sehlurst Park.

Injuries, no doubt, played a role in that, yet he still featured regularly in Premier League 2, while he got much-needed experience by playing for the south London side in the EFL Trophy.

The 21-year-old-year was then handed the opportunity to get first-team minutes under his belt at Scottish Championship side Queen’s Park over the second half of last season, with Palace agreeing to a loan move as he entered the final months of his contract.

Yet it’s fair to say the attacking midfielder’s time at Hampden Park didn’t go to plan.

He was utilised only six times by boss Steven MacLean, with those appearances amounting to just 196 minutes of action.

No goals or assists were registered as Queen’s Park finished the season in eighth and with Raymond not making a match-day squad for their final four games.

Do Pompey retain an interest in Jadan Raymond?

It’s far to say, that Pompey have kept an eye on the forward’s progress - but it’s hard to imagine them exploring a deal for Raymond now, given their desire to improve on last season’s 16th place finish in the Championship.

Attacking reinforcements are needed this summer following the loan departures of Adil Aouchiche and Kaide Gordon, plus Harvey Blair still needing time to develop at Fratton Park.

The Blues are still keen on snapping up unproven gems and developing them into Fratton Park regulars. But with this season’s Championship looking tougher, Pompey looking to avoid any flirtations with relegation and Raymond’s time in Scotland bearing little fruit, it’s likely the Fratton Park side have since moved on in their search for attacking talent.

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