Portsmouth rivals Sunderland set for striker free transfer signing as Blues keep fingers crossed on attacking duo

The Black Cats, who beat the Blues 3-1 at Fratton Park before the international break and sit second in the table, are poised to sign Republic of Ireland international striker Aaron Connolly.

The 24-year-old is available on a free transfer following his Hull City release at the end of last season.

The diminutive front man will bolster a Sunderland forward department that already boasts the likes of Romaine Mundle, Eliezer Mayenda, Nazariy Rusyan and Wilson Isodor.

He bagged eight goals in 30 appearances for Hull last season and has plenty of Championship experience having also featured for Middlesbrough and Luton.

While Sunderland prepare to add to their forward ranks, second-from-bottom Pompey continue to struggle for fit options in that department.

Colby Bishop (heart), Kusini Yengi (groin) and Mark O’Mahoney (bone bruising) all sat out Saturday’s defeat by Burnley, leaving Christian Saydee to lead the line at Turf Moor.

Elias Sorensen was named on the bench, but the Blues opted to bring on young winger Harvey Blair in place of Saydee for the last 13 minutes of their latest Championship outing.

The Blues have scored seven goals in their first six games of the season. But three of them came in their season-opener against Leeds United. Meanwhile, three have also arrived via the boot of Callum Lang, who was withdrawn early at Turf Moor with a groin complaint.

Highly-rated on-loan Brighton youngster O’Mahony was due to return to training on Monday, after sitting out Pompey’s past two games with the bone injury he picked up on international duty with the Republic of Ireland’s under-21s.

It’s currently not clear, though, whether he’ll be fit for Saturday’s visit of Sheffield United to Fratton Park.