Latest on talk of Portsmouth move for Brighton midfielder with Cardiff City, Swansea City, Preston North End and Plymouth Argyle all said to be eyeing starlet

John Mousinho is adamant the purpose of his weekend scouting trip to Northampton wasn’t to watch Marc Leonard as talk of a move resurfaced.

And The News understands the promising Scottish midfielder is not someone currently interesting the Blues in terms of a summer move, as reports of interest once again circulated.

Pompey are said to be keen on Leonard, with the likes of Cardiff City, Swansea City, Preston North End and Plymouth Argyle all credited with interest in the former Hearts youngster this week.

The Blues boss made it clear the reason he was at Sixfields on Saturday was to run the rule over promotion rivals Derby County, ahead of their visit to Fratton Park next week.

It was a similar story last month, when Mousinho was present at the Kassam Stadium to see the Cobblers play Oxford United, before Des Buckingham’s side came to Fratton Park for the 2-1 win

Leonard was someone who was on the Blues' radar last summer, as a sizable overhaul of the first-team squad was carried out.

The Brighton talent, who’s on loan at Northampton for the season, isn’t a consideration for what unfolds in the next window, however, in the next stage of the first-team set-up’s evolution.

Pompey, of course, will be hoping to recruit players for a Championship campaign, as they lead the way in League One with seven games remaining.

Mousinho has spoken of the potential Leonard possesses, but the view at PO4 is the 22-year-old isn’t yet ready to step up to the level the Blues aspire to operate at.

Leonard was part of the the Northampton team who gave Pompey’s promotion ambitions a lift with a 1-0 win last weekend, as Mousinho looked on.

The head coach once again made it clear what the factors where behind being at Sixfields.

Mousinho said: ‘Same again, it just so happens at the moment that a lot of the sides we’re going to watch seem to clash with watching Northampton!

‘It was a really good game to watch with Derby as our opposition and coming up in a few days.

‘It’s just a good opportunity to watch a game live. As coaches there are so few games we can get to which fall within, first of all, a decent enough geography for us to get to games after training. But it’s also the game falling on a day we don’t have a game.

‘So it’s really important for us to watch teams live - and we picked up some good stuff.’