Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley has admitted that League One rivals Sunderland wanted to sign Millwall defender Mahlon Romeo before he headed to Fratton Park on loan, speaking to the Portsmouth News.
The do say ‘form is temporary’. And Sunderland supporters will be praying that class is indeed permanent as history threatens to repeat itself on the banks of the Wear.
They’ve been here before. Sunderland missed out on promotion under both Jack Ross and Phil Parkinson, starting a season with the bit between their teeth before choking under pressure.
The appointment of Lee Johnson, a manager with a proven track record in the division above, was supposed to take the Black Cats to the next level – or, in other words, the Championship.
But a run of two wins in six league games has the Stadium of Light faithful suffering PTSD-inducing flashbacks as another promising campaign threatens to unravel.
Why did Mahlon Romeo choose Portsmouth over Sunderland?
While Sunderland have stumbled, Portsmouth are heading in the right direction at last, sitting just three points adrift of another sleeping giant after winning each of their last four games – a run of results which has eased the pressure on manager Danny Cowley.
“We didn’t anticipate Mahlon would become available to us,” Cowley said of Romeo, the 26-year-old right-back who has played a major role in Portsmouth’s march up the table.
“It wasn’t one we could predict. He became available right at the end of the window. It was too good an opportunity to turn down.”
Cowley admits that Sunderland were interested in Romeo but the Millwall-owned defender opted to join a club somewhat closer to his East London home.
“I thought he was going to Ipswich and there was even Sunderland, but he wanted to stay down south. He became available and it was a great deal for us,” adds the former Huddersfield Town and Lincoln City boss.
“It would be tough (to sign Romeo permanently), but we’d love to have him.”
Sunderland also missed out on another highly-rated right-back in Dion Sanderson, last season’s loanee joining Birmingham City rather than return for a second spell on Wearside.
The Black Cats were also keen on Blackpool’s Jordan Gabriel and Arsenal starlet Ryan Alebiosu.
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