Gallen: We're hunting perfect Portsmouth number 10 - and may have found him

But the Blues are ready to temper that search as they consider whether Marcus Harness is the man to fill the problem attacking position.

Assistant manager, Joe Gallen, revealed the club have been actively pursuing an attacking midfielder, despite their failure to bring in any new faces this summer.

But after a maiden Fratton campaign in which he bagged a career-high nine goals, the club see potential in using Harness in a more central role.

The 24-year-old looked dangerous when being used there in the second leg of the play-offs against Oxford United, getting on the scoresheet at the Kassam Stadium.

The likes of John Marquis, Gareth Evans and Andy Cannon have been used behind the striker, but Pompey failed to find a player who settled down in the position last term.

Liverpool’s Ben Woodburn has been mentioned, but the 20-year-old isn’t a player being pursued at present.

Gallen acknowledged the position provides an issue which needs resolving.

He said: ‘It’s definitely a position we’d like to fill, we’re currently looking for and thinking of someone in that position, definitely.

‘But we do have some candidates.

‘Marcus is someone we actually feel can go into that position with the amount of talent he’s got.

‘The amount of talent that boy in particular has in the final third with scoring goals and setting goals up, it might be tough to find a better player than him. His ability level on a daily basis is fantastic.

‘He plays with both feet, goes past people and can set up and score goals - he can even head them in.

‘He can do the lot, so we’re seriously considering him to play as a number 10.

‘So then if you said to me we need to find someone better than him - that may be tough, to be honest.’

It’s Cannon who perhaps has looked the most natural fit of all Pompey’s options in the attacking role behind the main striker, in Jackett’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.

Evans did serve up a man-of-the-match performance when brought in from the cold to play there at Gillingham at the turn of the year, however.

But it’s an area of the pitch where Cannon finds himself at home, and Gallen highlighted a new face must offer the squad an improvement to what’s already there.

He said: ‘There’s obviously Andy Cannon who’s played very well and done nothing wrong for us.

‘He’s been playing well as a number 10 in February and March when he was in there.

‘We know what Andy can do and he’s a very good player.

‘Fans do like him as well because he’s done very well.

‘So we know we’ve got Andy and we’re thinking Marcus.

‘But we’re also thinking who can come in from outside and topple them two?’

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