View: Portsmouth delight as new contracts are targeted for Colby Bishop and Kusini Yengi
Portsmouth want to tie down popular Fratton Park duo Colby Bishop and Kusini Yengi to new deals.
It is a step in the right direction for a club preparing to play their first EFL Championship match since 2012 this August.
After their impressive EFL League One title-winning campaign, Pompey have been promoted back to England’s second tier.
Their reward? An opening day clash with Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday 10 August.
That match serves as a not-so-friendly reminder of how tough life back in the Championship could prove to be. Therefore, the club will need to ensure they are fully prepared for the challenge ahead.
And it looks as if they are taking the right steps to do just that.
According to the club’s sporting director, Rich Hughes, Pompey are targeting new deals for both Bishop and Yengi.
The forwards were key players at Fratton Park last season and could therefore be crucial once again during the 2024/25 campaign. Both players have a year left on their deals with a year in the club’s favour, but Hughes has admitted they are already thinking ahead.
Speaking to The News (14 July), the 36-year-old said, “Kusini is probably an obvious one, we’ve been speaking to his agent throughout the summer and it might start to come up in conversations.
“Colby is similar, with a year with a year’s option. We are in a nice spot with Colby and just want to review everything as and when. Probably these will be conversations post the transfer window.”
Portsmouth targeting new contracts for Colby Bishop and Kusini Yengi
Without these two players, Portsmouth might not have made a return to the Championship.
Although Yengi, an Australia international, only started seven league matches last season, he still managed to find the back of the net nine times in 26 overall appearances.
He might not be John Mousinho’s most important player, but football is a team game, and the Portsmouth boss will need players like Yengi to call on from the bench in the Championship.
The 25-year-old still managed 1.2 shots per 90 minutes and 0.7 dribbles per 90 minutes across 855 minutes of league action (WhoScored).
His record at international level demonstrates his goalscoring quality too, with the striker having found the back of the net four times in just eight matches for Australia.
As for Bishop, the 27-year-old needs no introduction. Last season’s top scorer for Portsmouth, he will once again be the go-to man next season.
Bishop registered 2.5 shots per 90 minutes as well as 0.8 key passes per 90 minutes in the league. In addition, he racked up an expected goals total of 27.87 across the entire League One season, amounting to 0.71 expected goals per 90 minutes.
Bishop and Yengi will both be crucial to Portsmouth’s goalscoring efforts next season and locking them into new contracts could therefore prove very beneficial in the long run.
In other Portsmouth news, supporters will be delighted after Mousinho dropped a one-word admission on one player at the club.
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