Aouchiche, Towler, Bramall, Moxon, Stevenson: Portsmouth transfer window state of play as business ramps up
Time is ticking, the transfer window shuts at 11pm on Monday - and here is the current state of play with Pompey’s remaining business...
Attackers
Pompey are desperately short of wide options, epitomised by Terry Devlin playing on the right wing at West Brom when John Mousinho rotated his side.
Tellingly, Harvey Blair couldn’t even get into that 20-man squad, with a right-back instead preferred to him, while Australian striker Thomas Waddingham was included after his arrival.
With Sammy Silvera returning to Middlesbrough, Elias Sorensen packed off to Norway, Paddy Lane out for the season, and Blair not yet trusted in the Championship, wide options are sparse.
At present Mousinho has Josh Murphy and Matt Ritchie on the flanks, while Callum Lang has, on occasions, operated on the right in addition to the number 10.
Sunderland attacker Adil Aouchiche is one high on Pompey’s wanted list, although has featured just eight times in the Championship this season, with one of his three starts coming against Pompey.
Liverpool’s Kaide Gordon has also been looked at, yet, following an unsuccessful loan spell at Norwich in the first half of the season, interest appears to have waned, but not extinguished.
Ideally, Pompey want two more attacking players during the transfer window, with the capability of playing across the attacking three behind Bishop, thereby also strengthening the number 10.
At present, the only alternative to Lang in that role is Christian Saydee, who hasn’t started a league match since October and lacks the energy and the press of his 10-goal rival.
Left-backs
The 28-year-old, who is out of contract with Rotherham in the summer, has started just five League One matches this season, totalling 21 appearances overall.
Jordan Williams started there against Wycombe in the FA Cup and also came on for the final 21 minutes at West Brom in the position to give Ogilvie a breather. However, he now has a hamstring injury.
With Ogilvie signing a new two-year deal in June and Farrell contracted until the summer of 2028, Blues have been weighing up whether purely short-term cover is required for the rest of the campaign.
Certainly Pompey have made it very clear they do not want to sign a front-line left-back to play ahead of Ogilvie and a fit-again Farrell beyond this season.
Bramall offers an important safety net in the meantime, although will also have the opportunity to make that first-team spot his own.
Ryley Towler
With plenty of loan interest, the recruitment of Hayden Matthews and return of Conor Shaughnessy, Towler’s transfer window departure is now inevitable.
Regardless, Pompey are keen on finding a League One taker for the 22-year-old, who desperately needs matches for his development after becoming a fringe player over the last 18 months.
Having started three League One games last season, he has now made 10 Championship line-ups this term. Yet concerns remain that he is not yet ready for this level and needs more experience.
Certainly this is one exit anticipated before Monday’s deadline.
Owen Moxon
The midfielder appears to be drifting further and further away from first-team selection and could well depart in this window, with interest from League One.
Since starting at Wycombe in the FA Cup, he hasn’t featured for a single minute, instead serving as an unused substitute in five successive games.
Even before then, Moxon’s first-team involvement has been sporadic, totalling two Championship starts and 10 substitute outings, while earlier in the season he failed to even make the squad over a seven-week period.
The arrival of Isaac Hayden has shifted him further down the pecking order. When Marlon Pack returns from his defensive sabbatical, the former Carlisle man could well struggle to match the 20-man match-day squad.
Certainly Pompey are not rebuffing any interest at present, although recent links with Charlton were false and denied by Mousinho.
Ben Stevenson
Pompey have been open to offloading the central midfielder since August 2024, yet he still remains at Fratton Park.
A concern for clubs eyeing him will be fact the former Coventry man has made just 12 appearances over the last 18 months - and none since August.
However, despite being excluded from the 25-man Football League squad, Stevenson has continued to train with Mousinho’s first-team and, by all accounts, behaved professionally.
It is understood there is League One interest in the 27-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, and a deal could happen.
Tom Lowery
Like Stevenson, the midfielder has long been made aware of his Fratton Park future, having been surplus to requirements since August.
Clearly a talented performer when fit, Lowery has made just 31 appearances during his two-and-a-half year Pompey stay, which may put off interested suitors.
Ironically, his sole outing this season ended in leaving the pitch early through injury against Millwall in the Carabao Cup.
As with Stevenson, he has continued to train regularly with the first-team, despite being excluded from the 25-man Football League squad.
Will Norris
Was an ever-present when Pompey were crowned League One champions, keeping 19 clean sheets and being named in both the PFA and EFL’s League One Team of the Year.
However, since losing his first-team place after the Stoke defeat at the start of October, Norris has slipped to third-choice keeper at Fratton Park.
The Blues remain open to him leaving and had hoped the 31-year-old would agree to a move to League One Barnsley - yet he rejected the opportunity.
Norris is nowhere near the team and was one of the higher earners when he joined in the summer of 2023, so financially it also makes sense for Pompey to move him on this window.
However, with 18 months still left on his contract, the former Burnley man could instead opt to stay and turn down other interested clubs.