BBC broadcaster names four players likely to leave Portsmouth this summer

BBC Radio Solent's Andrew Moon has named a quartet of players most likely to be heading for the Portsmouth exit door this summer.

Speaking on his weekly radio segment of 'Moon's Musings' [17 July], the Pompey broadcaster says Gavin Whyte and Anthony Scully could be sold by the club in this window as the squad is reshaped.

Moon also notes teenager Reuben Swann is almost certain to head out on loan and Ryley Towler could follow in the coming weeks.

"Leaving this summer, it's fairly obvious Swann will go on loan, and I still think Towler might," he said.

"For Whyte and Scully, I think it's a case of how much they show in pre-season.

"They could perhaps go out, and that could be a loan or a sale - we know they're both talented players, so it depends on what kind of interest there is."

Portsmouth must let a few go

With five through the door - albeit one of them Swann - and another handful expected to arrive, Portsmouth must decide which squad players to keep around and who to cut ties with.

This will not only allow players to advance their own careers and keep a happier, trimmed squad in place, but also help balance the books at Fratton Park.

Former Pompey midfielder David Norris spoke this week about how fringe players could spring into life even in a higher division, and can use pre-season as a clean slate to force a way into John Mousinho's reckoning.

No fewer than 17 players made under 20 league appearances from the Pompey squad last year, which was down to a mixture of a lengthy injury list and the continued success of the team keeping squad players out of the XI.

However, with 10 players released in the summer and now talk of players being sold or loaned, it looks as if Mousinho and his staff are beginning to materialise next season's squad.

In other Portsmouth news, Mousinho explains the reason for Colby Bishop's pre-season absence.

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