Transfer Gossip: Portsmouth to fight Barnsley & Huddersfield for former Arsenal & Dinamo Zagreb midfielder

Football Insider has reported the Blues have registered interest in the 23-year-old, along with Huddersfield and League One rivals Barnsley.

The youngster is without a club after mutually agreeing to terminate his deal with Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb earlier in January.

Burton had spent the first half of the campaign on loan at League of Ireland side Sligo Rovers, where he featured 13 times in all competitions.

Now the free agent midfielder is looking for a new home, with the trio all believed to be keen on landing his signature.

In 2021, Burton was strongly-linked with a switch to Fratton Park as Danny Cowley assembled his squad.

This saw him spend a period on trial at PO4 before the former Blues boss opted to pursue other options.

He rose through the ranks with Arsenal, where he spent 14 years in the academy but failed to register a first-team outing at the Emirates Stadium.

Burton featured five times in the Papa John’s Trophy for the under-21’s side before calling an end to his time with the north London outfit in 2020.

Instead, the youngster made the European switch to Zagreb for £800,000, where he went in pursuit of regular senior appearances.

During his time with the Croatian outfit, he made 12 outings - two of which from the bench in the Europa League during the 2020-21 campaign.

The midfielder becomes the latest name to be linked with the Blues in January after Ethan Erahahon, Ryley Towler and Tyriek Wright were all credited with a move.

Yet, Towler marks Pompey’s only signing of the window as the club continue their search for Cowley’s successor.

The centre-back arrived on a three-and-a-half-year deal from AFC Wimbledon at the start of the month, with the recruitment lead by sporting director Richard Hughes.

Pompey are well-stacked in the midfield department, with Joe Morrell, Marlon Pack, Tom Lowery, Louis Thompson, Jay Mingi and Ryan Tunnicliffe their current options.

However, injuries, illness and suspensions have hampered the Blues in the first half of the campaign, which largely contributed to their dismal run of form.