EXCLUSIVE: Portsmouth reignite interest in Brighton youngster lighting up League One

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 19 Feb 2024 13:48 GMT
• 3 min read

Exclusive

Portsmouth remain keen on Brighton midfielder Marc Leonard who is currently on loan at Northampton Town, FootballTransfers can reveal.

The League One outfit registered an interest in the 22-year-old during the summer but he agreed to a new deal at Brighton and therefore wasn’t available for a permanent switch to Pompey - though now sources inform us that they will try again in the upcoming window.

The Scotland Under-21 international has been on loan at Northampton this season and has been one of the standout performers in the league.

Leonard is under contract to the Seagulls until June 2025, while there is also an option to extend that until 2026. Portsmouth are one of a number of clubs showing interest in the youngster. We are told clubs in the Championship, Scottish Premiership and Europe are keen as well.

How well is Marc Leonard performing this season?

Portsmouth's interest comes after Leonard scored a sensational goal from a corner routine against Bristol Rovers on Saturday. The strike marked his seventh goal contribution this season for the Cobblers.

He told the Northampton Chronicle after the encounter, which ended as a 3-1 win for his side: "I think it would have been a risk for me and Mitch to do any sort of set-piece routine if the manager was on the sidelines after what happened at Portsmouth.

"We felt it was on the corner before and we were hesitant to do it but the second time I felt confident enough to hit it and it went in and that's now three Puskás nominees in three weeks!

"I said before that scoring more goals was something that I wanted to add to my game and it's nice that I've finally scored in a game that we've won because it's been a bit bittersweet in the last few weeks. It feels good to score but it feels even better to get the three points."