Portsmouth to cool interest in Karomoko Dembele

Portsmouth are set to cool their pursuit of Stade Brestois striker Karamoko Dembele, according to a report in The News.

Portsmouth are admirers of the winger but may have to put their interest on hold due to the large number of clubs keen to land him this summer. He spent last season on loan at Blackpool and caught the eye at Bloomfield Road, scoring nine goals in 47 games in all competitions.

Dembele, 21, has now returned to his parent club in France but is wanted back in England by various teams. According to The Star, Sheffield Wednesday are among the Championship clubs eyeing a possible swoop.

In this latest update from The News, Pompey may have to start looking elsewhere for targets in his positions. They won the League One title last term and were promoted to the second tier along with Derby County and Oxford United.

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Dembele, who has represented both Scotland and England at youth international level, has been with Celtic from 2019 to 2022.

He went on to make 10 first-team appearances for the Hoops in all competitions and found the net once for the Glasgow giants.

Brest then managed to lure him away from Celtic Park last year and he played 17 times for the Ligue 1 side last campaign.

Dembele was given the green light to head out the exit door when Blackpool came calling at the end of August to get some game time to boost his development.

Since then, he has benefited from playing regularly with the Seasiders and could be in line for a big move somewhere soon.

His future ultimately rests in the hands of Brest and their plans for him ahead of the next campaign.

Portsmouth will be realistic about their chances of winning the race for Dembele.

However, the fact that they looked at him shows the profile of the players they are in the market for.

Pompey will be patient with their recruitment and not rush to make expensive early offers while they wait for the right ones.