Andy Cullen addresses Portsmouth out-of-contract eight - with big names at risk of leaving in summer

Instead, the Blues’ current focus is fixed on the forthcoming January transfer window as they strive to strengthen.

Colby Bishop, Regan Poole and Kusini Yengi are among those players whose Fratton Park deals expire at the season’s end.

Others include Andre Dozzell, Zak Swanson, Tom Lowery, Anthony Scully and Ben Stevenson.

The likes of Bishop, Yengi and Swanson have 12-month club options within their existing contracts, ensuring Rich Hughes and John Mousinho have the final say in whether they stay.

However, Poole, who is presently sidelined with a hamstring injury, provides the biggest concern, with no mention of the existence of such a clause when Pompey officially announced his arrival in July 2023.

That raises the worrying possibility he could depart on entirely his own terms next summer - and for nothing.

Pompey’s chief executive told The News: ‘I never comment on individual negotiations with players or their agents, but clearly we have a number of players whose contracts will expire in the summer.

‘At the right time, we will work with those, but I don’t think it would be right for me to comment on individual contracts or individual players - and lots can happen between now and the end of the season.

‘Clearly Regan and Colby are among them. I am absolutely thrilled for Colby how he has been able to resume his career much earlier than anyone expected or anticipated. He’s come back and made such a difference to us.

‘Likewise with Regan after 11 months coming back into the team and probably playing more frequently than we might have liked.

‘He’s out at the moment but will be back soon and remains everything we wanted when we signed him as an out-of-contract player in the summer of 2023.

‘For us it will be when the time is right for those discussions. They aren’t necessarily on hold, the timing of all these things is about continuing to look at every scenario in every situation.

‘Our focus at the moment is very much the January transfer window, we will look at things beyond that as we go through it.’

Certainly Lowery, Stephenson and Scully have no future at Fratton Park and will be allowed to leave next summer.

Ideally, the Blues would welcome the out-of-favour trio departing in January, having clearly played their last games for the club and not been registered in their 25-man Football League squad.

Meanwhile, Andre Dozzell, whose 12-month deal is scheduled to expire at the end of the season, has a player - rather than club - option.

Regardless, Pompey will hopefully have a busy January transfer window in store as they attempt to put further distance between them and the Championship relegation zone.

Cullen added: ‘We now focus very much on what is a very, very fluid situation with January because we’ve got so many dynamics to play.’