Danny Cowley makes transfer admission on Portsmouth player as Swansea City lurk

Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley has admitted that Marcus Harness could depart Fratton Park this summer – but only if a ‘good’ offer arrives at Fratton Park for his services.

The 26-year-old attacking midfielder was due to be out of contract at Pompey this summer, but the south coast club triggered an option in his deal that extended it by an extra year.

That keeps Harness at Portsmouth until the summer of 2023, which means that they are running out of time to recoup a fee for him should he not want to extend his time any further at the club.

Harness had his best scoring season during the 2021-22 League One campaign, netting 11 times in 40 appearances, as well as notching six assists as well.

Blackburn Rovers were linked in January but more recently it is the interest of Swansea City, as first reported by The News that Russell Martin has continually been monitoring his progress, that will be concerning Portsmouth fans.

Cowley put up a realistic front when discussing the future of Harness by not ruling out a departure in the coming months, but ideally he would like to keep the ex-Burton Albion man at the club.

“We’re respectful. For us to sell Marcus it would have to be a good offer,” Cowley said, per The News.

“Our focus is on trying to get better. We don’t want to lose key players if we’re going to achieve this.

“We wouldn’t want to sell Marcus unless we get a good fee, ultimately.

“He’s a key player for us.

“We’d have to be well remunerated to then be able to spend it to help us get better.

“Ultimately, though, you don’t get better if you sell your best players.”

The Verdict

Along with Ronan Curtis, Harness is the man that makes Portsmouth tick when he’s on form.

He’s become a better player year-on-year at Fratton Park,