AFC Wimbledon could be running out of options regarding potential destinations for wantaway midfielder and Bristol Rovers transfer target Luke McCormick, after Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley admitted he is not one of his transfer targets.
McCormick has been a long-term target for the Gas all summer, with Joey Barton keen to add a dynamic No8 to his midfield and be reunited with a player he believes he can further improve following his impressive loan spell in the 2020/21 campaign.
Rovers had a bid rejected earlier this month for the 23-year-old with AFC Wimbledon holding firm over their £200,000 valuation for a player who still has two years remaining on his contract at Plough Lane.
The Gas are understood to be McCormick’s first choice but the impasse has led to further interest from Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership, now managed by Lee Johnson, and Pompey, as reported over the weekend, with the midfielder a boyhood Portsmouth fan. Speaking on Monday, however, Cowley revealed that central midfield is not an area he’s looking to strengthen in the final two weeks of the window.
“No, they’re both players that we know, but it’s not an area we’re looking to add to,” he told the Portsmouth News, with reference also to Charlton Athletic's Alex Gilbey. “I think we are well stocked in that position, we’ve got very good competition for places.”
In the case of Hibs, meanwhile, it’s not thought the Scottish club are willing to meet anywhere near what the Dons are valuing McCormick, and are monitoring the situation in the hope his price can be driven down.
How possible that is could depend on Rovers’ next move as the summer transfer window enters its concluding fortnight. McCormick hasn’t featured for the Dons all season, with the club insisting he's injured amid speculation over his future intensifying, with the midfielder clearly wanting out.
Dons boss Johnnie Jackson insists he’s under no pressure to sell, but still has his highest-earning player, who’s earning a medium-level League One salary contributing nothing to a team in the division below. From a financial perspective, the pressure of not moving him on will surely start to tell although once the window shuts on September 1, if McCormick stays in south London, presumably there will be some kind of reset.
That being said, usually in these situations the player - even with two years remaining on his deal - gets his way, as Wimbledon simply cannot afford to swallow another 12 months of his salary for minimal return on the field.
Although he wouldn't name individuals, Barton indicated on Saturday that the Gas won't be pushed around in the market and maintained he's committed to finding value in the signings he makes. Burnley's Adam Phillips has emerged as one of a number of alternatives, with the McCormick saga dragging on.
As the Gas manager has alluded to previously, they may simply have to wait out the situation until the “last embers” of this window, but that could also open up opportunities elsewhere in terms of recruits, leaving McCormick potentially trapped in limbo and the Dons with an immovable, and likely unhappy, asset.
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