Rival boss makes Hull City transfer admission ahead of Abu Kamara reunion

Portsmouth chief John Mousinho has no doubts Abu Kamara can perform at Championship level, though he hopes the Hull City newboy will have an off day on Saturday.

Kamara was a shining light at Fratton Park during a loan spell from Norwich City last season, helping Pompey secure the League One title and a return to the Championship, scoring 10 goals and notching 11 assists along the way.

That form on the South Coast alerted City, who spent much of the summer trying to persuade the Canaries to part with their prized academy asset.

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It took City until deadline day at the end of August to prize the 21-year-old away from Carrow Road in a deal which could rise towards £4m, a figure which ended any faint hopes the Blues had of getting him back at Fratton Park during the summer.

Instead, Kamara will come up against his former teammates in the Black and Amber of the Tigers on Saturday, looking to help his new side to a valuable home victory against the bottom side, and his former manager has spoken glowingly of City's new wing-wizard.

"We’ve obviously watched Hull from a preparation point of view, but to us, Abu is just another player we have to be aware of as an opposition threat," Mousinho confessed.

"Paying that sort of money was never realistic for us, and it’s great Abu was able to do that off the back of last season. I think he fully deserved it. He improved with us, a lot of the young players do that when they go away on loan. What was particularly impressive with Abs was the fact it is his first loan and, he hit the ground running.

"I say he hit the ground running, he probably had a difficult period in some people's eyes from the outside during the first two months, but from our point of view, we thought he was flying.

"You don’t come from an Under-21s side and affect every game. Also, he was probably playing slightly out of position and the second we switched him over I thought he was really, really effective for the rest of the season and was outstanding. The threat he posed towards the back of the year was incredible.

"I wish Abu all the best, just not at the weekend! Yes, absolutely, he can perform in the Championship; I hope not for this weekend, though."