Naylor future at Pompey up for discussion
and is likely to accept it.
Michael Mancienne: There were times when Mancienne, who was 33 in January, made the game look so easy that it looked as if he could yet play in the Championship and, of course, the possibility that a Championship club may think so and offer him a better deal than Burton can is there.
Having him for a full season would be brilliant news for Burton, though, after he came through a short-term deal with flying colours.
I believe Mancienne will be offered and will accept a deal to stay.
Kieran Wallace: Wallace has not been lucky with the timings of injuries as he has tried to establish a good Football League career.
He tore his cruciate ligament in the game against Charlton Athletic in February. If he takes the standard length of time to recover from that, he will miss pre-season and only be looking to get up to speed in September.
Hasslebaink spoke well of him, though, and while he likes to use players specific to a position, one or two versatile players, as Wallace is, are good to have around.
It would have been harsh to release him during his recovery but might another club make him an offer when he is fit? Or might a loan, to get him up to speed, be a good idea once he is ready? It is a tough one to call.
Ryan Edwards: The manager has stated that Edwards has a long-held desire to play in Europe, which we take to mean continental Europe rather than the two European countries, England and Scotland, he has played in since coming over from Australia.
Burton have talked to him about staying in our corner of Europe and Hasselbaink wants him to stay.
He is a “Hasselbaink-type player” if there is such a thing, a hard worker and a thinker about the game.
I understand that the player, who says he has loved working for Hasselbaink, acknowledges the manager’s assessment of the situation to be accurate.
He will be having a look around and the decision is his. Whereas some previous managers may have taken the view that “he either wants to play for us or he doesn’t”, Hasselbaink knows all about playing both here and on the continent and will be patient with Edwards.
Fans and team-mates will just hope he stays.
My gut feeling is that he won’t – but, like the supporters, I would like to be wrong.
FORMER Burton Albion favourite Tom Naylor’s future is in the balance at Portsmouth with his three-year contract up.
Naylor has captained Pompey for most of those years but the club’s hopes of returning to the Championship have been dashed each time since Naylor left the Brewers on a free transfer at the end of the 201718 season.
They lost in the semi-finals of the play-offs, 1-0 on aggregate to Sunderland, in 2018-19 and again the following season, missing out on penalties to Oxford United after two 1-1 draws.
This season, they missed out on the play-offs on the last day of the regular season.
Naylor has not been released by Portsmouth and is negotiating with new manager Danny Cowley about his future.
The 29-year-old admits he wants another crack at the Championship before his career is done but he hoped he would be doing that with Pompey.
“I had a meeting with the gaffer on the first day he arrived and told him I don’t want to give my captaincy up,” said Naylor last month.
“It’s an honour being captain of this club so it’s one of them ones where they (Pompey) have the money and I can’t force their hand.
“I’ll just keep going in every single training session and game then see what happens in the summer.
‘I’m 30 in the summer and I want to play at the highest level I can.
“That’s every player in league football, they want to play high.
“I want to be in the Championship, that’s my aim.
‘Every club is in the situation with Covid and fans not being there.
“We’ll see what happens in the summer because I’ll give my all for this club then we’ll talk whenever.”
When Cowley spoke about the situation with out-of-contract players, he sounded a note of caution about the financial situation.
“The club is in the position where it has obviously been hit incredibly hard financially by Covid and without our wonderful supporters being in the stadium,” he told Hampshirelive.
“We are still trying to get through the effects of Covid, we are still trying to understand what next year looks like.
“We are hoping that the supporters are going to be back, hopefully in full.
“We are still waiting to see if that happens, obviously that has huge financial implication.
“We have had good conversations with all of the boys out of contract, they know our feelings, where we stand.”
Portsmouth’s other former Burton player, winger Marcus Harness, remains under contract for next season.