Portsmouth prepared to pull out of pursuit of Liverpool man and Leyton Orient target- for now
Pompey may shelve interest in Liverpool’s Harvey Blair for 12 months.
The Blues are monitoring the talented teenager, who has already made his debut for the Premier League giants.
John Mousinho is an admirer of the winger and presently weighing up the possibility of a loan approach for a player also linked with Burton, Leyton Orient, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock.
However, The News understands Pompey are not yet convinced the 19-year-old Blair is ready for a Fratton Park season in League One.
Instead they are mulling over whether to revisit the situation in 12 months for a player they still have a high regard for.
Regardless, Blair remains a possibility this summer, albeit realistically a potential loan deal could happen only towards the end of the window.
Liverpool fly out to Germany and then Singapore for pre-season, with the attacker likely to join them as they assess his ongoing development.
Premier League clubs usually decide which youngsters they are willing to loan out at the end of a summer, having firstly watched them in action in first-team training and friendlies.
That remains the case with Blair, with Pompey not expecting clarification on his availability – and learning of any potential destination – until late July.
Certainly the Blues are prepared to be patient with some of their loan targets, particularly having already secured five permanent signings early in the window.
They have recruited Will Norris, Conor Shaughnessy, Christian Saydee, Terry Devlin and Anthony Scully – of which three fetched transfer fees.
Despite wanting to reduce the amount of money spent on loan players, which has spiralled in recent years, they still intend to utilise the market.
The likes of Blair fits the bill – yet Pompey remain undecided whether to pursue their initial interest.
