Chapter 1: Who is Ebu Adams and why are Derby fans sad to see him leave?
The latest Pompey news, updates every day from the Pompey Sound Newsdesk. Pompey look set to land Derby County midfielder Ebu Adams as their second January signing, and Derby fans have been quick to let them know what kind of player they're getting.
The Blues are thought to be on the verge of a deal for the 29-year-old, who is heading to the south coast for a medical, before making a permanent move for a reported £500,000. If all goes to plan, the powerhouse midfielder will become the second new face at Fratton Park in just three days, after Milenic Alli joined on loan Wednesday.
Adams is seen as the missing ingredient for John Massigno's engine room, a spot Pompey have been keen to fill ever since Markosnovsky's season-ending injury in December. During his two-and-a-half years at Pride Park, the former Cardiff City man racked up 89 appearances, helped the Rams win promotion from Ligue 1 in 2024, and was named their Player of the Season in the Championship last term.
It's clear Derby supporters are sad to see the Gambia international go, but they've been sharing their thoughts on what Pompey can expect. Add Djamilov.
Chapter 2: What impact will Ebu Adams have on Portsmouth's midfield?
Got us up and kept us up. Won't be forgotten. Had the captaincy ripped off him in favour of a guy who's never even played for the club, course it was gonna affect his performances. He should leave with nothing but good things said about him. A great person as well. At KRS 0774. This one hurts. I know he's probably not the best at everything, and with better players ahead of him it was inevitable.
But Ebu will forever be a legend at the club, etched in history along some absolute greats. At DCFC Pete, 82, goes into the cult hero category for me, vital in getting us back to the champ and staying there, and absolutely loved his work off the ball, always gave it 100%, and what a character. But long term, probably the right move for all involved, wish him nothing but the best.
Wow. Those are tributes indeed. You don't very often hear of a player leaving a club with such glowing commendations coming from, you know, the people who pay their wages, the people who are, in a sense, their bosses, when they've got nothing but praise. And it seems to me that there are very few reservations about this guy coming from the fans.
There's one or two comments suggesting that perhaps his final touch, his final ball or his final shot
could be a bit better but that's not the main part of his game the main part of his game is being uh the engine being being the powerhouse and you know one of the things that i think is characterizing what we're hearing about the players that are coming to pompey or might be coming to pompey is that they have an explosiveness about them and we need this We need to be robust.
We need to win more than 50% of our 50-50 challenges, more than 50% of our aerial combats. We need to be winning them more. We're a good side. We're a skillful side. We can do good things when we've got the ball, but getting the ball back is something that we want to be better at. We want the other team to say when they line up against us on a Saturday afternoon, my goodness me, they're big.
And I think they're going to bite our ankles as well in a legitimate way, of course. So this fellow, it sounds like he's a pretty darn good acquisition.
Sheffield Wednesday are set to announce their first signing of the January transfer window after journalist Peter Rourke revealed on X that Jadon Heskey has passed a medical with the Owls. Earlier in the month, reports linked SWFC with a move for Heskey who is the son of former England striker Emile and who will get his first taste of first-team football with Henrik Pedersen's side.
Manchester City youngster Jadon Heskey has passed his medical at Sheffield Wednesday ahead of his loan move, and could be in the squad for Saturday's clash with Portsmouth. The Owls remain rooted to the foot of the Championship table on minus seven points and go up against Portsmouth this weekend. O'Rourke adds that Heskey could even be in the side to host Pompey on Saturday.
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Chapter 3: How did Derby fans react to Ebu Adams' departure?
But the Owls are on the mend with James Board the preferred bidder for Sheffield Wednesday.
So if he turns out for them against us on Saturday, what have we got? We don't know. Very little is known about him. He hasn't played for his first team. He's played nine games for the kind of Man City reserves. Mind you, that's going to be a heck of a side, of course.
And he's obviously got really good DNA because those old enough to remember his dad, Emil Heskey, will remember a guy who burst on the scene. He was a tremendous athlete, a physical presence. I remember one defender saying that he was chasing the ball down and he heard Emil Heskey coming up behind him and he said it was like being chased by Usain Bolt and then being hit by Mike Tyson.
Well, if Jadon's got any of that about him, then we'd better watch out. However, he's a young lad. It seems that if the best he can do, no offence to Sheffield Wednesday, but they are in what often gets called a parlous state. If the best he can do is Sheffield Wednesday, then it may be that he's got some learning to do. But, of course, going out on loan.
stepping down a tier or two is a good way of learning. So we wish him well. But if he turns out against us on Saturday, then obviously we don't.
Interesting tidbit of news, though. Sheffield Wednesday have won only one of their last 27 league games, but that win was against Portsmouth earlier this season. The last time a second-tier side's first two wins in a season were against the same opponent was in 1974-75, two wins for Portsmouth against Nottingham Forest.
Portsmouth have conceded 15 goals from set pieces in the Championship this season. The only side to concede more is Sheffield Wednesday 17. All four goals they shipped against Arsenal in their FA Cup third-round defeat were also via set-pieces. . Sheffield Wednesday will be going in search of just a second win of the season when they take on Portsmouth at Hillsborough on Saturday.
With both clubs suffering from a vast number of injury problems – Sheffield Wednesday winless at home all season and Portsmouth winless on the road since the opening day of the season – Saturday's Championship clash is unlikely to be a classic. The two sides will meet at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon 17 weeks on from their Fratton Park showdown back in September.
The Owls won 2-0 on the south coast, securing their first and only win of the Championship campaign thus far. Goals either side of half-time from Barry Bannon and George Brown, got the job done for Henrik Pedersen's men, generating a rare afternoon of enjoyment for the Wednesday faithful, who have seen their side win just seven league matches since the start of 2025.
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