There has been much speculation linking us to the Hampton and Richmond striker Nicke Kabamba, but it seems that he may be destined for different pastures.
He spent two days last week training with Portsmouth, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Jamal Lowe, who not only signed for them earlier this month, but also made his debut this weekend as they beat Leyton Orient 2-1.
Lowe and Kabamba are close friends, and last week the south coast club ran their eye over him for a couple of days, as they had done Lowe earlier in the season. Hampton and Richmond chairman Steve McPherson told The Portsmouth news about the link up;
“Nicke Kabamba has been with Portsmouth this week for two days, which is a similar arrangement we initially had for Jamal. Basically come down for two days, we will look at you, you look at us and we’ll see how we go. Other clubs have made offers for Nicke, which I have said are not acceptable. He is young, raw, not as good as Jamal at the moment but still a good player, and a lot of clubs are showing interest. He’s a centre forward and best friends with Jamal, they probably come as a package, buy one get one free!”
He added that along with our belief that there’s little difference between League Two and our league, he feels that extends to the Conference South.
“It’s nice to have that link with Portsmouth. No disrespect to some of the teams in the National Conference or League Two, but I don’t think there is that much of a gap these days.”
Both players are highly rated and Lowe earned good reviews for his debut this weekend. I have to wonder if one of the other clubs interested in Kabamba is the Imps. He certainly fits the bill as the sort of player we might be interested in, and he followed us on Twitter a week or two ago which could be an indication that we are interested.
After going out of the FA Trophy to Royston Town, Hampton and Richmond had a free weekend and it’s rumoured Kabamba was at Portsmouth to watch his mate make his debut. He’s is ambitious and it is expected he will move on in this window, although he is happy to wait until the right deal comes along, as he told the Non League Paper:
“I’ve been in talks with one club, but if it doesn’t happen then I’m still determined as ever to find the right team. It may happen in January, but if it has to wait until the summer then so be it. Getting a pro contract is what I’ve dreamed of, and now I know more than ever I’m ready.”
Kabamba combines his football with a job at a car rental company, but he was eager to point out to reporter Nick Lough that he was working hard..
“I was scouted by Fulham, Southampton and Sunderland when I was 12 to 15, but I just couldn’t go, however one of my close friends Aaron Pierre did go to Fulham, and he’s now doing really well at Wycombe. I work at a car rental company three days a week; it was four, but I’ve cut down a day to allow me to spend more time in the gym or working on my game and keeping sharp”
With both Lowe and Junior Morias moving up from the Conference South it seems that Kabamba is next in line for a big move. Whether than move is to Lincoln City or not remains to be seen, as far as League Two clubs go they don’t get much bigger than Pompey, they attracted a 16,000 crowd for their win on Saturday.
Mind you if he’s watching BBC One tomorrow night I’m fairly sure he’d be impressed with the 9,000+ crowd expected for our FA Cup tie!