'Has everything you want' - Portsmouth boss delighted as Fratton Park deal agreed with defender

The Blues boss welcomed the news by saying the defender has all attributes you want in a modern-day centre-back.

He also stressed the 26-year-old’s importance to the team and expressed delight with Poole’s adjustment to life in the Championship - a level he had yet to taste in his career until this season.

A free-transfer signing from Lincoln in the summer of 2023, the Wales international has penned a new two-year deal with Pompey that will take him up to the summer of 2027, with the club also having the option of an additional year.

The agreement comes just months before Poole’s initial Blues contract was set to expire at the end of the current campaign and follows hot on the heels of the contract extensions signed by both Colby Bishop and Terry Devlin in recent weeks.

The centre-half’s return to fitness this term after 10 months out with an ACL problem has helped Pompey out massively given their struggles with injuries to centre-backs.

Poole himself has had issues on that front as he picked up a hamstring injury 14 games into his comeback in December - a setback that cost him 14 games.

Yet he’s back in the starting line-up again and proving a huge asset as those defenisve injury battles continue - and Mousinho’s simply delighted the former Manchester United trainee took the opportunity to commit his future to the club.

Mousinho told the club website: ‘Regan is an important member of our squad and we’re delighted that he’s agreed a new deal.

‘After working so hard to get back to full fitness after a serious injury, he has adapted brilliantly to life in the Championship.

‘He has everything you want to see in a modern centre-back – good with the ball at his feet and aggressive without it.

‘Now he can focus on trying to have a strong finish to the season and help the team continue this positive run of form.’

Competition for places

Poole has featured 17 times for Pompey in the Championship this season - despite missing the first month of the campaign as he recovered him knee surgery and being absent at the turn of the year.

In that time, he’s had three different central-defender partners - including Marlon Pack, who teamed up well with Poole to keep out Leeds United at Fratton Park on Sunday.

That partnership is expected to remain in tact for Wednesday night’s important visit of bottom-of-the-table Plymouth to PO4.

However, last week’s arrival of former Sweden international defender Alexander Milosevic means there’s still competition for places in the Blues back line, despite a current centre-back injury list that includes Conor Shaughnessy, Hayden Matthews, Rob Atkinson and Ibane Bowat.

Both Shaughnessy (hamstring) and loanee Atkinson (calf) are expected back before the end of the season, while Ryley Towler is also available should he be needed between now and the campaign’s conclusion.

Pompey contracts

With Pompey acting swiftly to offer new deals to Poole, Bishoo and Devlin, it will be interesting to see if they repeat the process again.

At present, six other members of Mousinho’s first-team squad are into the final four months of their deals - Andre Dozzell, Zak Swanson, Kusini Yengi, Cohen Bramall, Ben Killip and Milosevic.

The Blues have options to extend the deals of at least two of them - Swanson and Yengi - while a separate arrangement is in place for Dozzell.

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