Portsmouth transfer news: John Moushino admits interest in Western Sydney Wanderers striker Kusini Yengi

The Pompey boss confirmed the Australian market is one the Blues have explored this summer as they look to build a squad capable of delivering promotion to the Championship.

Several potential targets have been identified by head of recruitment Phil Boardman – and Yengi is one of those they believe fits the profile of player they’re looking to attract.

The 24-year-old scored four goals in 18 games for WSW as they finished fourth in the 2022-23 A-League. He also recorded two assists for the CommBank Stadium outfit.

The brother of Ipswich striker Tete Yengi, the 6ft 2in front man still has a year remaining on his current deal, after arriving from Adelaide United in June 2022.

But it’s been reported that Wanderers manager Mark Rudan is prepared to let him leave after what has been described as a ‘stop-start season’ for the pacy striker.

Pompey are on the look out for additional firepower ahead of the 2023-24 season. Christian Saydee was this month purchased from Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee after he impressed on loan at Shrewsbury last term, scoring seven times for Salop in 35 games.

However, in order to give last season’s top-scorer Colby Bishop sufficient cover, one more front man is on the Blues’ wanted list before the transfer window closes on September 1.

Former Cambridge striker Sam Smith was a player Pompey initially had under consideration. Yet the Fratton Park outfit have clearly been spreading their search further afield, with Yengi an option they’re considering.

When asked about the potential for a move for the Australia under-23 international, Mousinho told The News: ‘The Australian market is one we’ve had a look at over the summer. Our head of recruitment has done a lot of good work there and there’s been a few targets we’ve had a look at – Kusini being one of them.

‘That’s a moving feast in terms of what it looks like for players coming over here. We’re still doing quite a lot of work there and I think we’ll have to see how that progresses over the next couple of weeks.’