Cherries boss Eddie Howe has said he will think “long and hard” about the prospect of allowing striker Wes Thomas to remain with Portsmouth.
Thomas dropped down the pecking order under previous boss Paul Groves and was given the green light to join Cherries’ south coast neighbours on a month’s loan.
And since arriving at Fratton Park at the end of last month, the 25-year-old frontman has made a major impact and has netted twice in five appearances.
He has also struck up a fruitful partnership with Izale McLeod, prompting Pompey boss Michael Appleton to indicate he will attempt to extend Thomas’s stay.
Thomas’s impressive form has also brought into question Cherries’ decision to loan him to a League One rival – and a club which has now gone above them in the table.
Howe, who replaced Groves in the Goldsands Stadium hot-seat at the weekend, has already set about the task of assessing the squad he has inherited.
Speaking to the Daily Echo tonight, Howe said: “Wes is someone we have always admired from afar. We are quickly assessing the squad and are well stocked in the striker department.
“But, with someone with Wes’s qualities and attributes, we are going to have to think long and hard about what we do with him before his loan is up.
“We can’t do anything for the first 28 days but, once we are able to recall him, it is certainly something we would think about.”
Thomas, signed permanently by Cherries in January following a three-month loan spell, bagged 11 goals last season and was the club’s leading marksman.
However, after scoring in Groves’s first game in caretaker charge at Stevenage, he failed to find the target in 11 subsequent appearances and was farmed out to Pompey.
Howe and assistant Jason Tindall were at Goldsands Stadium tonight to watch Cherries ease past Winchester City in the Hampshire Senior Cup.
A side comprising first-team pros and development squad youngsters triumphed 6-0 against the Southern League Division One South & West outfit.
Donal McDermott took centre stage by bagging two majestic first-half goals before Clive Makoni and Jordan Chiedozie both netted twice after the break.
Cherries: Jalal, Case, Meades, Bowles, Zubar, Wakefield (Bassele, h-t), McDermott, Carmichael (Cargill, h-t), Makoni (Moth, 80), Chiedozie, Gilkes. Unused subs: Strugnell, Goodship.
- Bashley exited the Hampshire Senior Cup following a 1-0 defeat by Newport (IOW), while Poole Town won 3-0 against Weymouth in the Southern League Red Insure Cup.
