Silkeborg chief delivers update over £2.5m-rated Portsmouth target's exit amid Championship chase for Danish star

Pompey target Pelle Mattsson is set to remain with his club until the transfer window’s climax.

Silkeborg’s sporting director has insisted it would take an ‘extraordinary’ offer for the Danish ace to depart from his club at present.

Silkeborg’s chief clear position on Pompey target’s exit

And that means the in-demand midfielder is looking increasingly likely to finish his European obligations with his existing employers, before completing his dream move to England.

Mattsson is high on Pompey’s transfer shortlist this summer, as the Blues look to build for their second campaign in the Championship.

But there is also strong interest in the 23-year-old from the Blues’ rivals in the second tier, who will likely have transfer warchests to put together attractive offers for the player.

Mattsson is valued at around £2.5m, a figure Pompey see as steep for the former Denmark age-group international. There could be movement on that valuation, as the transfer window progresses however - and that is looking increasingly likely to be when any deal takes place.

Silkeborg have been consistent on their position they want to keep Mattsson for their Uefa Conference League qualifiers, which begin against Icelandic side KA on July 23.

They could conceivably be in action up to the final play-off game on August 28 - just four days before the transfer window closes at 7pm on September 1.

The News understands there is still currently a long way to go before anyone secures Mattsson’s services, with Silkeborg’s sporting director, Jesper Stuker, affirming the club’s position on the player

He told Midtjyllands Avis: ‘Here and now we have no intention of selling any of our key players.

‘We are just getting started, and we have some really important games to play in Europe.

‘We want to see if we can get all the way to the group stage, so it would also require something quite extraordinary at this time.

‘We are not there (deals to sell agreed) with any of the players - and that also goes for Pelle.’

Silkeborg’s European qualifiers could end four days before transfer window’s close

Mattsson’s side were today in action in their latest warm-up game ahead of their European fixtures and the start of the Danish Superliga season.

The midfielder was a substitute as Silkeborg went down a 3-1 home defeat to Aarhus Fremad. That follows on from a costly mistake from Mattsson in their 2-0 reverse against FC Midtjylland last Friday.

Silkeborg face Horsens on Sunday and German Bundesliga side St Pauli on July 15, before their league season gets underway at Brondby on July 20.

Pompey are in Slovakia from tomorrow at their week-long pre-season training camp. They then open their pre-season programme at Woking on July 15 with the Championship campaign beginning at Oxford on August 9.