Unfortunately for eight of them, that involves being handed free transfers rather than staying at the club they represented in the 2022-23 season.
Here, Blues sporting director Rich Hughes explains each decision behind the exits of Michael Jacobs, Jayden Reid, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Louis Thompson, Clark Robertson, Kieron Freeman, Alfie Bridgman an Dan Gifford.
5. Louis Thompson
‘Louis had a tough time with his leg break, through no fault of his own, and found himself frustrated with game time. ‘Regardless, he’s really positive around the place, has some really good ideas ofnthe game, and is at the stage of his career where he needs to find himself playing on a regular basis - the last three months tells you that wasn’t going to be here. ‘Louis would be a good asset to somebody’s group and squad. If anyone picks up the phone to ask us what Louis Thompson is like, they’re getting a really good person first and foremost, and a midfielder that suits different scenarios and different situations. ‘With having the three midfielders under contract and taking on Harry Jewitt-White, we felt it was in the best interests to rejuvenate the squad, which meant we weren’t able to offer him anything.' - Rich Hughes Photo: Jason Brown
6. Clark Robertson
‘Clark was a really tough decision, he's done a lot of really good things at the club. ‘By his own admission, he will find himself frustrated with the amount of games he’s missed through injuries and it has probably led to him having quite a stop-start time at the club, even since my time from October. ‘Clark led the group well, he’s a really positive character, but we have Sean Raggett and Ryley Towler under contract next year as centre-backs and are really pleased with those two. It’s our job now to go and add to that. ‘We wish Clark all the best, he enjoyed his football here, although frustrated about not remaining fit for as much as he would have liked, and I’m sure he'll be successful somewhere else next season.’ - Rich Hughes Photo: Jason Brown
7. Kieron Freeman
‘Kieron has probably had a tough time at the club and goes with our best wishes. ‘He’s a really talented footballer, but fell foul of a couple of injuries, although there were a few moments when he did get into the team and affected it. ‘We have Joe Rafferty and Zak Swanson and we didn’t want to carry three right-backs next year, while Kieron was out of contract. ‘I think he’ll move slightly further north to be back around his family. It will be a good opportunity for somebody to take him - then it's up to Kieron to see how he does.’ - Rich Hughes Photo: Paul Thompson
8. Alfie Bridgman
‘They’ve had good loans at Bognor this year, while Alfie’s had some international recognition with Malta under-18s. ‘However, we felt they were going to be a bit of a distance away from affecting the Pompey first team in the next 2-3 years and it was the best thing for their careers to go and achieve success at varying levels. ‘They won’t be short of options, whether that will be an under-21 set-up or a National League team. They'll have to go and play and be successful. ‘They have trained really well here and done well at Bognor, but we didn’t feel there was a natural progression which affected the first-team. Now both will be leaving the football club.’ - Rich Hughes Photo: Jason Brown