Permanent emergency loan window closure ticks for Pompey

Yet this is set to be the final season for those clubs outside the Premier League to take advantage of the emergency loan window.

From today until Wednesday, November 25, Football League and Conference clubs can recruit loanees outside the international transfer window.

Inevitably, the Blues will be involved over the duration, with Paul Cook keen to recruit a right-back and a striker – as well as loan out some of his squad.

The system, which operates only in England, was granted a stay of execution by Fifa back in March to continue for the 2015-16 campaign.

However, the world’s governing body wants to scrap it in future to protect the ‘sporting integrity of competitions’.

Around 350 Football League players were signed on emergency loan during the second half of last season.

Over that same period, Pompey brought in three – Cole Kpekawa, Nyron Nosworthy and David Cornell.

In total, Andy Awford signed seven players during last season’s two emergency loan windows, although barely any of them can be classed as successes.

Lee Holmes, Michael Drennan, Marcus Bean and Matt Fish arrived during the first loan window, the latter two on the same day in November.

Bean would go on to be offered a permanent Pompey deal, only to turn it down in favour of an 18-month contract at Wycombe.

The other three made 12 appearances between them before tumbling out of the team and can be considered Fratton Park failures.

Of those signed in the second half of the 2014-15 campaign, Cornell was a substitute goalkeeper and never featured, while Nosworthy suffered an injury-hit seven matches.

As for Kpekawa, his forgettable spell consisted of two matches and he was returned to QPR early.

Back in 2013-14, Guy Whittingham signed John Marquis, Dan Potts and Trevor Carson during the first emergency loan window.

Yet it was to be his replacement as boss, Richie Barker, who would prove to be in the busiest, bringing in four during the second period.

They included Toumani Diagouraga, Rhys McCabe, Drennan and Danny Hollands.

Hollands would actually never play for Barker, who departed the following day, yet his impact earned him a permanent Blues stay.

During the chaotic 2012-13 season which saw 54 players named in squads, a total of eight recruits arrived during the loan window.

These included Wes Thomas, Carl Dickinson, Scott Allan, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing. Paul Benson, Alex Cisak, Jake Jervis and Patrick Agyemang.

Pompey’s first-ever emergency loan recruit was Liam Lawrence in September 2010.

Although arriving with Dave Kitson from Stoke in time, the Football Association received his registration after the deadline. It meant he initially joined on a loan before becoming permanent.