LATEST: Portsmouth weigh up move to plunder international market in January transfer window
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Andy Cullen has confirmed there’s still leeway for the Blues to look overseas to boost their ranks, as they look to strengthen their options in the new year.
Plans are continuing to prepare for the January window, which is shaping up to be a critical period of recruitment for John Mousinho’s squad as they look to remain in the Championship this season.
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Hide AdAnd that includes looking once again looking at those options away from domestic business, with Pompey looking to explore opportunities abroad under sporting director Rich Hughes.
Under Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) criteria now in place, it’s easier to bring in overseas talent after the Home Office approved changes which relaxed the points system in place.
In the Premier League and Championship, four players can be signed in such a manner as long as there are enough English players within a club’s ranks.
Pompey hit that threshold with Jacob Farrell, Abdoulaye Kamara and Nicolas Schmid the players in the building under the new system.
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Hide AdWith one space still available, Cullen explained utilising that space is part of the jigsaw when it comes to the Blues approach to business in January.
He said: ‘GBE rules allow you to bring in players that are established players in top leagues.
‘The other route is players with a dual British passport, as is the case with Kusini Yengi.
‘Then you have those players where exemptions came in the season before last. There’s a lesser criteria for those players, though they do have to hit certain criteria and certain marks.
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Hide AdJacob Farrell, Nico Schmid and Abdoulaye Kamara all fall into that bracket.
‘In the Championship you can have four such players, so there’s potentially another one we could bring in from that market this season. It’s looking at all of that, so we’ve left ourselves room in that area.’
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