Conor Chaplin in, £1.2m signing misses out – Portsmouth’s best starting XI as transfer window shuts
Portsmouth had an extremely busy transfer window.
John Mousinho has brought in 11 new signings across the summer, with four new additions coming on deadline day.
The biggest was no doubt Conor Chaplin, who joined Portsmouth on loan from Ipswich Town.
However, with so many new faces coming into Fratton Park, Mousinho may well struggle to fit each one into the starting XI.
As a result, Pompey News has put together what we think Portsmouth’s best XI now looks like.
Conor Chaplin set to go straight into Portsmouth’s starting XI
While Josef Bursik did join Fratton Park on deadline day, Nicolas Schmid will be expected to keep his place in goal.
At full-back, Mousinho’s best options remain Connor Ogilvie and Zak Swanson.
Conor Shaughnessy and Regan Poole remain the centre-back pairing despite the signing of Zak Knight.
Into midfield, and John Swift has had an excellent start to the campaign and will likely partner Marlon Pack once he is back from injury.
This is despite Portsmouth spending £1.2million on Mark Kosznovszky this summer.
- Mousinho signed 11 players this summer
- However, many of them will likely struggle to start regularly
- Chaplin and Segecic are no doubt Portsmouth’s biggest signings of the summer
Chaplin comes into the starting XI to play as the attacking midfielder after his late move, pushing Adrian Segecic to the wing.
Josh Murphy remains on the opposite flank, while Colby Bishop maintains his place up top.
- Read more: Jeff Stelling forced to say Portsmouth sealed ‘biggest signing on deadline day’ with one major deal
Portsmouth have a ridiculously strong bench
As evident from the lineup, many stars at Portsmouth have missed out.
This proves how strong Mousinho has made the squad, with Pompey having quality replacements for almost every position if there is an injury or suspension.
Hopefully, this will also help the South Coast club to maintain their form throughout the campaign, given the options the manager now has.
Now, it is down to Mousinho to ensure that his squad yields results after a busy transfer window, with nobody ruling out a push for the play-offs.
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