"Uncertain" - Colby Bishop return tipped to trigger potential Portsmouth FC exit | OneFootball

Pompey frontman Mark O'Mahony could see his minutes reduced with the return of Colby Bishop, and may then be recalled by Brighton as a result

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Irish striker Mark O'Mahony's future at Portsmouth has been called into question due to Colby Bishop's return to fitness pushing the Brighton loanee down the pecking order at Fratton Park.

Brighton & Hove Albion loanee O'Mahony joined Pompey on a season-long loan deal in August, just a day after he had scored his first professional goal for the Seagulls in the EFL Cup.

The 19-year-old has been in and out of John Mousinho's team so far this season, with the Blues struggling to find their feet on their return to the Championship, and that has only been with the likes of Kusini Yengi and Christian Saydee as competition, so with Bishop now back in the squad, his minutes could be reduced even further.

Brighton are not likely to take too kindly to the development of their young talent being hampered, and so they could look to recall O'Mahony in the new year if he is not getting the kind of chances that they want him to be going forward.

Pompey fan pundit discusses likelihood of Mark O'Mahony January recall

Pompey's strikers have struggled for goals this season, so star man Bishop's return will be well-anticipated, and he has already netted on his return to action in a 3-1 win against Preston North End.

With that said, O'Mahony has been their most prolific forward so far this season, with goals against Stoke City and Oxford United to take his current tally to two strikes in eight league appearances and just five starts.

He has not started any of Portsmouth's last three outings, however, and both Bishop and Saydee were preferred by Mousinho to come on over him against Preston, in a telling sign of what may be to come for the next five weeks up to January.

O'Mahony is clearly a highly-rated young striker, but our Pompey fan pundit, Miltos Ioannidis, thinks that his future at the club is uncertain due to Bishop's return pushing him down the pecking order, after we asked him if he is concerned that Brighton may recall the 19-year-old in the new year.

“(There is) always a possibility that Mark O’Mahony is recalled by Brighton in the January transfer window,” Miltos told FLW.

“Mark’s situation is interesting because you have got a player that was a substitute for the first couple of games after he joined, then he cemented his spot in the starting eleven, where he managed to score two goals during a period where we probably played our worst football of the season so far.

“The service that he was provided with was very minimal. I don’t remember us creating anything for him, but he managed to score twice out of nothing.

“Then Kusini Yengi came back from injury and they started together, but now Colby Bishop is back, you would imagine that O’Mahony is our third-choice striker.

“That leaves questions over what the future holds for him because it has been a while since he last played. I think it was actually before Yengi had started his first game.

“You do wonder if the future for him is uncertain, and what Brighton’s feelings are in regards to him not getting as much game-time as they would have liked him to.

“(He is) a player that has a lot of potential, and is doing really well at international level. I keep seeing him score lots of goals for the Republic of Ireland under-21s.

“It’s going to be really interesting to see what happens with him. It’s really hard to predict.”

Portsmouth fought off strong competition for O'Mahony's signature in the summer

Pompey will not want to lose O'Mahony in January, as he has shown that he is a clinical finisher when given ample chances, but he will certainly not be short of potential suitors in the new year after they beat off some decent competition for his services in August.

The Republic of Ireland youth international revealed after joining Fratton Park that Sunderland, Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday all wanted to sign him in the summer, but Brighton teammate Adam Webster, who came through the ranks at Pompey, helped to convince him that the Blues were the right team for him.

"I was close to signing for Sheffield Wednesday, but I don’t think the clubs could agree a deal. Then they said “Look, Portsmouth are interested as well. Do you want to take a call?,” he told The News.

"Sunderland and Swansea were also interested, but I spoke to Webby about Pompey and also a few of the kit men, who are massive Pompey fans, and they couldn’t speak more highly of the club.

"You want to know where you are going beforehand and, honestly, there wasn’t one bad thing said about the club, it was full of praise. It made my decision easier as well."

There was clearly a lot of promise for O'Mahony when he first made the move to Portsmouth, but Bishop's recent surprise return to the squad has possibly thrown a spanner in the works for his future at Fratton Park.