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Exclusive:Abu Kamara needs to be loved again - and classy Portsmouth faithful have never stopped adoring him The winger contributed with 10 goals and 11 assists in 52 appearances during his previous Fratton Park spell There were some among the Pompey hierarchy who once harboured concerns over a prospective adverse reaction to Abu Kamara’s maiden Fratton Park return. With relegation-threatened Hull scheduled to visit on the final day of the 2024-25 campaign, anticipated to be among the Tigers’ number that afternoon was the talented winger, with five goals in 36 appearances. The previous summer, Hull flexed their financial muscle to pay Norwich a reported £4.5m for the youngster. Pompey, who had also declared an interest, had been blown away. As it turned out, May 2025 would signal the attacker’s first time back on the south coast since parading the League One trophy at Southsea Common in celebrations which would double as his own farewell party. Having subsequently not moved to Fratton Park on a permanent basis, despite a sliver of opportunity, there were those at the Blues who wanted to avoid creating a perception that Kamara had dared to snub the club and the fans. Certainly the message driven home ahead of the homecoming fixture was designed to invoke a generous supporter response rather than any negative connotations. ‘So it wasn’t a case of Abu turning Pompey down at all’ ‘Then I would like it to be a very, very hostile atmosphere for him. Not because he’s Abu Kamara, but because he’s a Hull player and on the opposition. I don’t want it to be too nice for him. ‘We were always interested, we would have taken him back if we had the opportunity. I don’t know the ins and outs, but I think the transfer fee reported was largely accurate. ‘The figures that were talked about were certainly not what we’d be able to pay, which put us way out of the running. So it wasn’t a case of Abu turning Pompey down at all.’ Not that anybody needed to have worried. Hull secured the point they required to stay up in the Championship on goal difference ahead of Luton, while Kamara was handed a post-match standing ovation by all three home stands. Touching Fratton Park moment In a touching moment, the youngster broke off from survival celebrations with his team-mates to applaud each end of Pompey support, visibly emotional and hugely appreciative. The Fratton faithful are not as outrageously fickle as most football fans. As one of the heroes who brought back Championship football after a 12-year absence, Kamara will always be honoured, irrespective of his colours. In truth, Pompey themselves attracted substantially more criticism over their perceived failure to secure him permanently from Norwich, rather than the player for supposedly demonstrating outrageous disloyalty. At that stage of the club’s evolution, they were unable to compete financially in such instances. Particularly for a newly-capped England Under-20 international whose agent was engineering a big-money summer exit from Carrow Road. As Mousinho recently admitted at the BBC Radio Solent Forum, the Blues had declared interest in Kamara during most transfer windows since his departure. Now he has returned. Having struggled to live up to his Hull price tag, coupled with a disappointing, injury-impacted loan spell at Getafe, the 23-year-old has endured a barren two years. ‘Sign him up, sign him up’ The best season of his career remains in 2023-24, when he flourished in League One football at Pompey, with 10 goals and 11 assists in 52 appearances during a title-winning campaign. The Fratton faithful sang about signing him up on that memorable night against Barnsley. Then, 12 months later, there was more outpouring of affection from classy Blues fans upon his return with Hull. Kamara is at the stage of his career where he needs to feel loved and appreciated in order to nudge a faltering football career back on track. Welcome home, Abu.