Yes, there’s absolutely no doubting that Conor Chaplin is a fans favourite at Fratton Park, but the reality is his future has seemingly been away from Pompey for some time, right?
Before I continue, it seems an age since I’ve been able to write anything. I still care but the workload has kept me very busy, which is added to the countdown to the Bubba arriving. The World Cup – which I have very much enjoyed so far – has been thrown in too, which has taken the limited free time I’ve had.
Anyway, back to the point, Chaplin… It would seem he is on his way to Coventry? Should this prove to be the case he would link up with a number of familiar faces at the Ricoh Arena as I’m sure the Sky Blues still have Liam O’Brien, Tom Davies and Michael Doyle playing for them, who could all vouch for the forward’s ability, well, at least potential ability.
Marc McNulty is another former teammate of Chaplin’s, but it’s his impending departure from Coventry that is setting up Conor’s switch to our League One rivals – coming a year before the end of his contract at Fratton Park.
Personally, I’ve felt, as much as I rate Chaplin and wanted him to be a success at Pompey in the long-term; this was probably the summer for him to move on. Therefore, I’m not surprised Chaplin soon could.
You could argue that regular first-team football will unlock the potential he showed when bursting onto the scene? But in fairness could both Paul Cook and Kenny Jackett – who limited his starts in recent years – both be wrong? For me, Chaplin hasn’t made that next step-up. Ok, he’s still young but perhaps he needs this change to get his career going again?
In an ideal world, we’d be able to extend his deal by a year and ‘send him to Coventry’ on loan for the season, but such an option probably isn’t viable. So, if Chaplin is to bid farewell to Fratton Park I wish him all the best. However, I hope, from a selfish point of view, he doesn’t do too well for the Sky Blues or we’ll rue the decision to let him leave, assuming this does happen in the coming days?
PLAY UP POMPEY
