Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho has admitted that the ball is in Manchester United's court in relation to the future of loanee Di'Shon Bernard.
The versatile defender, who has been on United's books since 2017, joined the League One club on a short-term basis on the final day of the January transfer window, offering him the chance to earn some much-needed game time. He spent last term on loan at Hull City and was restricted to a handful of Under-21 appearances at Old Trafford in the first half of this season.
Despite only racking up 10 appearances for Portsmouth, featuring seven starts, Bernard impressed during his time at Fratton Park, which officially drew to a close following Sunday's final-day 2-2 draw with Wycombe Wanderers. He offered signs of both his potential and his versatility.
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And Mousinho has confirmed that he would like to sign the 22-year-old on a permanent basis this summer if the opportunity arises, but it depends on whether or not United choose to retain the defender, who has made just one senior appearance for the club.
"Firstly, Manchester United have the option on him, so we'll see what they want to do and then go from there," Mousinho told The News. "My gut feeling on him is positive, but he's a Manchester United player at the moment and, if they take his contract up, it's a very different situation from if they don't.
"We'll have to have a look at that, see what they do, and get in touch with them over the next couple of weeks. It has been really important seeing Di'Shon starting in the team over the last four matches. He’s versatile, has played right-back and in both centre half positions, performing really well in all three of those slots.
"There's a huge amount of improvement within him. What's Di'Shon's ceiling? It's hard to tell, but he is right up there in terms of where he can go.
"These are very, very exciting times for him, regardless of where he is. His loan has been positive and, although he might not feel like that because he hasn't played as many games as he'd like, to perform as well as he has done over the last four matches is a huge reflection on him. He has a bright future.
"I don't know if Di'Shon wants to stay, I will speak to him this week, but I'd like to think he knows the demands we put on him and the way we want to play suits him."
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