Magpies hope to extend Mingi’s loan but Cowley remains ‘open minded’

Maidenhead United will hope to extend Jay Mingi’s loan move from Portsmouth this month, but it’s still not clear if the player will remain at York Road for the remainder of the campaign.

United would dearly love to keep the player, who has added much needed industry to the midfield during a period which has seen the club beset by injury problems.

Despite being sent off in his first game, Mingi nailed down a starting place in the side under Alan Devonshire before picking up an untimely hamstring injury in early December.

United have discussed the possibility of keeping him at the club, however, Pompey head coach Danny Cowley suggested in an interview with the Portsmouth News this week that a decision on his future hasn’t yet been taken.

He said: “The Maidenhead loan has been good for Jay; he has played every game up until his hamstring injury.

“With his loan, there’s a break clause in the middle of this month, so we’re just monitoring the situation.

“Jay has done incredibly well at National League level – and there are a lot of clubs interested in him.

“We must decide whether we bring him back into our group or whether we extend his loan until the end of the season with Maidenhead, because he has some rhythm and fluency with them. Or there are a number of clubs at the top-end of that division which are keen to take him.

“We must be open-minded and try to make the right decision for the player, first and foremost.”

Mingi hasn’t appeared since the start of December following his hamstring injury, ruling him out of Maidenhead’s last four league fixtures.