Chelsea’s Irish Under-21 international midfielder Conor Clifford is set to join League One outfit Portsmouth on loan after appearing for the club on trial today.

The 20 year-old played 45 minutes for Michael Appleton’s cash-strapped side against Bolton Wanderers and has firmly attracted interest ahead of the new campaign.

Portsmouth are still under a transfer embargo and must shed three further first-team squad players – including former Chelsea defender Tal Ben-Haim – before August 10th if they are to begin the new football league season on time.

They are unable to complete any transfer deals whilst the trio remain and are taking a look at their options – of which Clifford is one – on a trial basis.

The midfielder spent part of last season on loan at Yeovil Town at the same level but saw his promising progress from 2010-11 tail off somewhat after a frustrating campaign with far too much time spent in the reserve team at Cobham.

With two years left on his contract, he’ll be looking to get firmly back on track with a full season of professional football, and will hopefully get that under the watchful eye of Appleton at Fratton Park.

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