The ex-Portsmouth, Norwich and Luton man battling life at the other end of the Belgian table to former Fratton team-mate Christian Burgess

Yet while Christian Burgess is on the brink of title glory, his former Pompey team-mate McGeehan is battling against being dragged into a relegation fight.

The pair both departed Fratton Park in the summer of 2020, only to reunite in the Belgium game, albeit at different clubs.

Now each are into their second season with their respective clubs, Burgess’ Royale-Union Saint Gilloise have topped the First Division A for the majority of the current campaign.

However, ex-Barnsley man McGeehan has been troubled by injury at Oostende this term, positioning them six points above the relegation zone.

The 26-year-old’s career in Europe started brightly, registering 20 appearances in his debut season with De Krustboys as they finished third in the league.

However, the midfielder has been sidelined for much of the second half of that campaign, before ruled out for the remaining eight games with a foot injury.

And his troubled time continued as he sustained an ankle injury in preseason training, resulting in him missing the opening five months of the current campaign.

McGeehan overcame his injury woes and made a first league appearance on Boxing Day, coming off the bench during Oostende’s 4-0 thumping by Gent.

Since the thrashing, the midfielder has started every game, as well as captaining the side in their last 11 fixtures.

Yet Oostende’s side have failed to hit the heights of the previous campaign.

Oostende’s troubled season continued as manager Alexander Blessin departed for Genoa in January, despite winning the Pro League Manager Of The Year in 2021.

The ex-Luton man’s time in Belgium has been much overlooked by the Fratton faithful as former favourite Burgess’ Royale-Union Saint Gilloise sit top of the same division.

McGeehan arrived on loan at Pompey from Barnsley in January 2020 and racked up 15 appearances for the Blues before Coronavirus shut down football.

In that time he scored two goals for Kenny Jackett’s side, with one being a memorable 90th minute leveller in the Leasing.Com semi-final against Exeter.

The 26-year-old returned to Barnsley before making the switch to Belgium later in the summer along with former Fratton team-mate Burgess.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can support our local team of expert Pompey writers by subscribing here for all the latest news from Fratton Park for 9p a day, thanks to our 30%-off transfer window deal.