No takers for Marquis as Donny boss admits striker ‘too expensive’
POMPEY’S efforts to sell John Marquis are being hindered by a lack of takers.
The Blues are yet to receive any concrete interest in the striker signed for £1m who is up for sale this month.
Danny Cowley is desperate to reshape his options in the coming weeks, as he aims to make his squad more competitive over the second half of the campaign - as well as planning ahead for next season.
Much will rest on the club’s ability to find a new home for Marquis when it comes to his plans for doing so.
But there’s not been any takers, despite Pompey being active in circulating the 29-year-old’s name to clubs potentially in the market for a striker.
Marquis was recently offered to Peterborough, who are looking for a striker as they bid to stay in the Championship, but the ex-Doncaster man’s former boss, Darren Ferguson, wasn’t keen on a deal.
A return to the Keepmoat Stadium has been effectively ruled out by new Donny boss
Gary McSheffrey, who said funding a move for one of Pompey’s very top earners would eat up his entire January budget.
‘John is brilliant,’ the Rovers boss told the Doncaster Free Press. ‘He’s a great player and I’m sure he would come here and guarantee some goals.
‘But Portsmouth aren’t just going to give him away. They’re going to want to recoup a lot of his salary. John’s alone would probably eat up the whole budget that we’ve got.
‘We feel with the money available we could get four good additions in and you’ve got to weigh it up.
‘John would be great but realistically he’s going to be too expensive.’
Finding a club who will cover Marquis’ wages appears to be the biggest challenge for Pompey, with six months remaining on his agreement.
The reality is the Blues will likely have to cover a sizeable portion of his earnings to find a buyer in the coming weeks.
SPL outfit Hibernian were keen on Marquis this summer, although the former Millwall man rejected the move due to being settled on the south coast.
Marquis has found himself slipping down the striking pecking order at Fratton Park this term, and has started one league game since the start of November as Leicester City loanee George Hirst hits form.
The striker has scored four goals this season and 11 in total in 2021, with his confidence clearly dipping in that time.
The hope for Pompey, however, will be there is a manager who looks at Marquis’ undoubted goalscoring pedigree and is willing to take a punt on him.
The Londoner has returned 14 and 18 goals in his two campaigns at Fratton Park, as well as bagging 26 finishes in two out of three seasons for Doncaster in the third and fourth tiers.