Marko Futacs is weighing up his Pompey future with Championship sides ready to pounce.
And the Hungarian powerhouse is prepared to bide his time as he decides whether to stay at Fratton Park on reduced terms.
Futacs has been offered a new contract after a clause was activated to tie him to the club for an additional 12 months.
That would be on less money as the Blues battle to cut their £9.5m wage bill.
The 22-year-old has spoken of his happiness at the club and admiration for boss Michael Appleton.
But there is the opportunity to remain in the English game’s second tier for the 6ft 5in hitman.
According to Futacs’ agent, Vladan Filipovic, his first choice would be to stay put with Pompey in League One, though.
Filipovic is hopeful there could be room for negotiation to allow a successful outcome to talks.
He said: ‘What Marko has said is he feels good at the club.
‘Normally he would like to stay but the situation at the club means he has been offered a little less money and conditions.
‘At the moment we are thinking about that and will see what happens.
‘A lot of things are in a bad situation at the club.
‘Something could happen, though. People could come in and the situation could be much clearer.
‘Then we could think about the possibility to stay.
‘If not we still don’t say no, but there would be more chance of moving.
‘We have some interest from a few clubs in the Championship.
‘We don’t want to hurry in that, though. We still have time, so we will see.
‘Marko likes the club and he was popular with the fans last season. We all saw that, of course.
‘Another thing is he likes the manager of the club and he likes the area.
‘The worst thing for him is the situation at the club. That is something Marko cannot decide. Everything else he likes.
‘These are reasons that he hasn’t already said no (to the contract offer) for sure.’
Futacs made 30 appearances last season – scoring five goals – after making the first-team breakthrough.
His outings became more sporadic as the campaign wore on, however.
Futacs would like to remain in England and enjoy more frequents starts next season – wherever he plays his football.
Filipovic said: ‘The interest is just clubs in England because Marko wants to stay in England.
‘There is nothing concrete yet because he has not decided whether he wants to stay in Portsmouth.
‘If he wants to leave it would be most important to sign for a club where he could play 75 to 80 per cent of games.
‘He wants to play a high percentage of matches, so it is no good for him to go to a big club and sit on the bench.
‘This is not a situation he wants.
‘He is still learning but he wants to play.’
Comments