, Portsmouth target ‘stalling’ on contract talks amid three-way chase

Portsmouth target ‘stalling’ on contract talks amid three-way chase

Portsmouth, Sunderland and Ipswich Town target Guy Melamed is stalling over a new deal at St Johnstone after recent interest from the three League One clubs, according to Portsmouth News.

His current boss Callum Davidson has conceded there’s a strong chance the striker will leave the Scottish side this summer.

Melamed joined the Scottish Premiership outfit from Maccabi Netanya in October, signing a one-year deal. He’s been a key player for the Saints, scoring seven goals and supplying three assists in 20 appearances as St Johnstone look for a mid-table finish.

It was reported by Football Insider last month, that the three League One sides were ‘monitoring’ the striker as his recent performances in Scotland had caught the eye.

The trio’s budgets are considerably higher than that in Scotland and the interested sides will be able to offer a significant increase in wages than what he may currently have been offered.

Melamed had spent all of his career in Israel before heading to St Johnstone in October and seems to have taken to British Football very well.

It is looking likely that Danny Cowley will be staying on at Portsmouth no matter what happens between now and the end of the season, so it’s only normal that he will look to bring his own players in.

However, this can be said to all three interested managers as their all new to their sides and haven’t yet had the chance to stamp their own authority on the team.

, Portsmouth target ‘stalling’ on contract talks amid three-way chase

Melamed has been offered a ‘very good deal’ to stay at St Johnstone, according to boss Callum Davidson, but he also admits that the 28-year-old’s future is out of his hands.

Davidson told The Courier: “We’ve offered him a very good contract and his agent just wants to wait and see.

“That’s all we can do. We can’t offer money that’s not there for somebody. We have a budget; it’s been a difficult time with Covid, and we’ve offered him a really good deal.

“Would we like him to stay? The answer is yes but we might be out priced. The fact he’s done so well has probably not helped our cause. I still think there’s more to come from Guy if he has a pre-season with us. It’s probably out of our hands at the moment.”

It remains to be seen if the interest is real or gossip, but it can be understood why the clubs are looking for new strikers.

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