Duncan Barkes

The story is that Pompey did table a bid for him, but his club wanted in excess of what Pompey bid.

And that must happen all the time in football during transfer windows.

We'll offer you this.

No, we won't take that.

We want this.

So that one may not be dead.

And it depends to what extent the club have a say in where he goes and to what extent he and his people have a say.

Would you swap the Alps?

for Portsmouth well we're all biased so of course the answer is yes but you see my point and John Massino says we need a striker we know that we've known that for quite some time when Bishop was first ruled out because of his awful issue with a heart condition which appears and one always touches wood when one says this uh to be behind him um

We needed a strike force then.

I think it was Callum Lang who mostly stepped into the breach and we haven't got him at the moment either.

So somebody who can also be a target man, somebody who can also help out defending corners as well as attacking them.

That's what we need.

That's what we need.

What is available?

Only John Massino and Rich Hughes are aware and no doubt they are juggling things.

and having endless meetings between themselves and text messages as they try to work out what is beginning to appear to be Pompey's number one priority at the moment in the January transfer window, and that is getting in a striker.

So just thinking about Jacob Farrell, we can actually widen the conversation and wonder whether John Massino might from time to time think there's some kind of curse at Fratton for him with players arriving and then immediately being unavailable through injury.

Look at Ibane Bowat who arrived from Fulham and the first time he kicked a ball on the training ground on day one, he's out for a year.

What?