John Mousinho makes ‘one in, one out’ transfer admission at Portsmouth
Portsmouth boss John Mousinho says the club are operating a “one in, one out” transfer policy for the rest of the window due to injuries.
The Pompey head coach revealed to The News [16 August] that the already considerable injury list at Fratton Park means they will not be letting any players leave until further recruits arrive.
This will come as good news to Blues fans, who saw their team open their Championship campaign with a pulsating 3-3 draw at Leeds United despite seven first-team absentees.
Mousinho said: “It’s not one out, one in at the moment – but it might be one in, one out if that makes sense, the ins aren’t dependent on getting someone out.
“But we’re not going to let anyone go at the moment until we have players ready to cover that position. At the moment, we don’t quite have that luxury [of selling players].
“We’ve pretty much used all 20 [fit] players over Saturday and Tuesday. We’ve needed the lads to contribute as they did, and they contributed really well.”
Portsmouth approaching rest of the window with caution
It’s well known that Portsmouth have far from the greatest budget in the Championship – the division is an entirely different kettle of fish from the off.
But the club have recruited with an element of savvy, with a few free transfers and marginal fees spent on players who can either provide excellent cover, or have crucial experience of the league.
Of the nine players brought to Fratton Park so far this summer, only Sam Silvera has arrived on loan – leaving important loan spaces in the squad open for any further incomings.
Mousinho spoke this week about how the loan market tends to gather pace in the final days of the window, once Premier League squads are more settled and out-of-favour players from the top flight often become available to Championship clubs.
Whilst “one in, one out” does not sound inspiring, the context in which the Blues gaffer means it will hopefully be the catalyst for a successful end to the window.
In other Portsmouth news, the club are beginning to recoup the funds spent on developing Fratton Park.
For more Portsmouth news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.