Pompey chimes continue to ring for Ireland number one Gavin Bazunu

The sight of Gavin Bazunu walking out onto the field at Fratton Park will have put a lot of Portsmouth fans' minds at ease ahead of Monday night’s League 1 clash with Charlton.

Kicking off during the last few hours of the January transfer window, the Pompey faithful could take it as a sign that the Ireland goalkeeper would be seeing out his loan deal until the end of the season, at least.

Despite assurances from manager Danny Cowley that Bazunu could only be recalled by parent club Manchester City as a result of availability issues, rumours of Middlesbrough looking to swoop in for the former Shamrock Rovers stopper persisted over the weekend.

On top of that, Portsmouth also brought a new keeper – Northern Ireland Under-21 international Ollie Webber – in from Crystal Palace last week.

The Sky Sports cameras were regular visitors at the lively and atmospheric arena on the English south coast during the Harry Redknapp years throughout the noughties, and the Premier League winter break offered an opportunity to return to Portsmouth for some Monday Night Football, albeit of the League One variety.

Republic of Ireland fans will, no doubt, have tuned in in their droves to catch their main man in live action, having been starved of any televised Bazunu action since the last of the international games in 2021.

That November double-header resulted in a brace of clean sheets for Bazunu who further cemented his place as the national team’s number one, which included a fine performance in the scoreless draw with Portugal.

There has, however, been plenty of media coverage of Ireland’s goalkeeping situation in the meantime, yet the narrative remained firmly focused on another of the top-class prospects making waves across the Irish Sea.

Caoimh