Andy Cullen on why overhauled Portsmouth transfer strategy is best approach to success

Christian Saydee and Kusini Yengi are two early Blues success stories after this summer paying minimal fees to capture highly-regarded young talent.

Terry Devlin and Anthony Scully have also been snapped up, with Paddy Lane and Ryley Towler arriving in January, totalling six transfer deals.

It’s a change of approach overseen by sporting director Rich Hughes, with Pompey having previously been stung by costly purchases for John Marquis, Ellis Harrison and Denver Hume.

And Cullen believes such investments can pay dividends in the future – both on and off the pitch.

The chief executive told The News: ‘There are gems out there and it’s making sure you are doing your due diligence.

‘We paid sums of money for Christian Saydee, Kusini Yengi, Terry Devlin and Anthony Scully this summer, plus Paddy Lane and Ryley Towler in January. That shows the intent.

‘It reflects the strategy, there is a real methodology and plan to it, recruiting young first-team ready players who are investments for the future.

‘Christian had a really good season last year and comes in first-team ready, while others also have really, really good first-team experience and make the step up, becoming good investments.

‘A lot of work went into Terry (Devlin), we beat off competition to get him from a number of Premier League clubs which wanted him to come into their under-23 set-ups and be a development-type player.

‘However, the player wants to get first-team football as quickly as he can, so we beat off perhaps more attractive offers in terms of names to come to Pompey.

‘Anthony Scully went for big money to Wigan in the Championship, but, because of issues external to football, we found ourselves in a position where we could bring in a player who is very, very proven in League One.

‘Probably the wildcard was Kusini Yengi. Phil spent a lot of time watching the Australian A-League and identifying a few players who had British passports.

‘I won’t go into the fees, but they all represent good investment for Portsmouth Football Club. I think it’s fair to say that with four young players signed when aged 21 and below, plus Scully and Yengi, they are good assets.’

Pompey’s 14 new arrivals this summer consist of four involving transfer fees, while three are on season-long loans.

The remaining seven were recruited on free transfers, with Regan Poole so far the most impressive.

Cullin added: ‘Although fees weren’t paid for them, we beat off stiff competition to get the likes of Regan Poole, Jack Sparkes, Will Norris and Gavin Whyte.

‘They were all out of contract and wanted by other clubs, but we managed to bring them to Fratton Park.

‘As ever, the success of any window is not judged at the end of the window but at the end of the season, when you look at your processes – and we went out with a very, very clear strategy as to what we wanted to achieve.’