Danny Cowley gives his version of events over late deadline swoop for Portsmouth player amid interest in Rotherham's Jamie Lindsay and Ex-Middlesbrough man Lewis Wing

The Pompey boss landed Aiden O’Brien on the final day of last month, as the window came to a close.

But the Blues boss failed to recruit a midfielder, after stating an intention to bring in a player in that area.

That was a cause of some consternation among the Blues fan base, with that area of the pitch quickly exposed as Shaun Williams fractured his spine against Charlton and Joe Morrell was sent off at Oxford United leading to a three-game ban.

Rotherham’s Jamie Lindsay and Middlesbrough’s Lewis Wing were strongly mooted as options to bolster Pompey centrally.

Chief executive, Andy Cullen, has since given his version of the transfer narrative, indicating the budget was used until Lee Brown departed - allowing Aiden O’Brien to arrive from Sunderland.

Cullen also stated there was late interest in the window for a Pompey player, which prompted a search for a potential replacement.

His intimation is there would have needed to be movement for any further additions to arrive in the middle of the park

In the event a firm bid didn’t materialise for the Pompey player, leaving O’Brien’s evening arrival as the final business before deadline day’s 11pm cut-off point.

Cowley was unsure of why things didn’t accelerate, but the critical factor from his point of view was a slimline squad wasn’t left lighter on numbers than it already was.

He said: ‘I think there was a suggestion there was going to be an offer, but nothing came to fruition.

‘We didn’t want to lose the player and it didn’t come to fruition. You’d have to ask the club involved why it didn’t.

‘But yes (the club needed to protect themselves), it’s not like we’ve got a lot of players!’

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