'A judgement call': Portsmouth chief defends change of direction on loan players after left with team selection dilemma

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Andy Cullen has reiterated Pompey’s commitment to investing in ‘emerging talent’ rather than returning to a reliance on loan signings.

The deadline recruitment of Kaide Gordon from Liverpool took Pompey’s tally of loanees to six for the remainder of the season.

The 20-year-old winger joins fellow loans Adil Aouchiche, Rob Atkinson, Freddie Potts, Isaac Hayden and Mark O’Mahony on Fratton Park’s books.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nonetheless, Cullen insists the club are comfortable with that situation as they bid to remain in the Championship.

The Blues’ chief executive told The News: ‘In an ideal world, you want five loans, but one of the ways we could strengthen was to go with that sixth loan late in the day when that opportunity presented itself to us in an identified area.

‘We made a judgement call to go with it. Now I can’t make that judgement call on my own without the backing of John and Rich, particularly John, who, ultimately, makes the team selections.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘We discussed it, debated it really, really carefully and felt it was something which would make us stronger.

‘In terms of where we are, the situation with loan players hasn’t changed. A few years ago we were spending a considerable amount of our total budget on loan players.

‘It is documented that two seasons ago, prior to having a sporting director structure in place, we were spending twice as much as any other League One club on loan players.

‘However, we have seen a shift in the dial to paying transfer fees and investing in emerging talent. And we are seeing that again in this window in terms of assets for the football club.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Liverpool’s Kaide Gordon took the number of Pompey loan players to six on deadline day. Picture: Justin Berl/Getty ImagesLiverpool’s Kaide Gordon took the number of Pompey loan players to six on deadline day. Picture: Justin Berl/Getty Images
Liverpool’s Kaide Gordon took the number of Pompey loan players to six on deadline day. Picture: Justin Berl/Getty Images | Getty Images

‘After the summer window we had only three loans, it always left us some potential to increase the number of loan players going into January, where you tend to get that experience as we have seen with Isaac and Rob.

‘We went down to two when Sammy went, so it has given us the opportunity to bring the extra four in this window. But, if you look at the ratio of loan players compared to permanents, it is a much, much lower ratio in terms of the budget than what we had previously been working with.

‘Everyone is using loans, you see that at the top-end of the table as much as you do towards the bottom. It’s a way of making yourself stronger, but it doesn't deviate from the approach of those longer-term investments as well.

‘The balance in this window was to make sure we brought that experience in to support us. We have also obviously used the opportunity to bring in very, very exciting prospects in terms of Hyden Matthews and Thomas Waddingham.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘In terms of Isaac and Rob, some players, we’ve been able to get that experience and - neither player would probably have been available to us on a permanent deal.’

Pompey potentially have all six of their loans available for Saturday’s trip to Sheffield United, with Aouchiche having now received clearance.

Instead Aouchiche, Atkinson, Potts, Hayden and Gordon are all expected to be in the Bramall Lane squad, providing they aren’t sidelined by illness or injury.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Cullen added: ‘If you have six loan players that are all fit at the same time - let’s assume and hope they all will be fit - then obviously that’s a match-by-match selection of what we are going to do for each game.

John was comfortable with that situation before we proceeded with Kaide on Monday night.’

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1877
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice