Well, there’s probably no-one better qualified – bar sporting director Rich Hughes, of course – to answer that particular question than head coach John Mousinho.
Over the past week The News has been quizzing the Blues boss to get an insight into what’s possible and what’s not.
It comes amid a background of injuries to midfielder Tom Lowery and forward Kusini Yengi, links to Chelsea youngster Tino Anjorin, speculation about Sean Raggett and Denver Hume’s respective futures and a summer that has already seen 13 new arrivals comes through the doors at Fratton Park.
So what’s the latest Mousinho has said about the above and other transfer talking points?
Here’s a breakdown of what he’s been saying as the clock ticks down towards deadline day.
1.
From left: Michael Eisner, John Mousinho, Tino Anjorin and Sean Raggett Photo: National World
2. Pompey's transfer plans following Yengi and Lowery injuries
Mousinho: ‘Without giving a concrete answer on it, we are still looking at other additions because of the two injuries we’ve picked up, but it’s not quite as straightforward as every transfer. We’re looking at the right mix of what cover we might need across those two positions or which one we might prioritise. That is something we have been working on. The overall answer is we are not ruling anything out at the moment, but nothing is imminent. We’re looking at a couple of options, so it’s not a definite yes or no, but we are not 100 per cent done. I think it will be one addition, we have a squad which we thought was about right with everybody fully fit, so if we lose two players we need to look at it again. We don’t want to end up with an overly-bloated squad.’ Photo: Jason Brown
3. Is there room in the budget?
Mousinho: ‘There is still room in the budget, the owners have been great. Since I have been here, the owners have had that flexibility. The only thing they’re concerned about is making Pompey better and we want to be prudent with that, we want to be wise with it, we don’t want to waste the owners’ money. But, at the same time, there’s no-one saying that’s your lot and be absolutely done with it - they are open to suggestions.’ Photo: Jason Brown
4. Permanent or loan moves?
Mousinho: ‘We are still looking at everything. Something might pop up on a permanent that we think is too good to turn down. As it stands, it doesn't look like any of those deals we might have wanted are now there, so we don’t want to force anything through, we don’t want to waste anybody’s money. Loans naturally are the ones where you think you might be able to get something late in the window because of how things change. Players may get paid up and become frees at the back end of it, so there’s another option. Less so the ones floating around the market for a long, long time.’ Photo: Jason Brown