'Pivotal': Portsmouth boss addresses popular midfielder's Fratton future after brilliant comeback
The midfielder is among seven Blues players out of contract this summer
John Mousinho is adamant he wants Andre Dozzell to remain at Fratton Park.
Although the head coach has revealed contract talks with the midfielder are presently on hold as Pompey focus on securing their Championship future.
The 26-year-old is among seven players whose deals expire at the season’s end, joining the likes of Marlon Pack, Zak Swanson and Connor Ogilvie.
Dozzell is enjoying a fine second season at Pompey, with his recent return from injury coinciding with a crucial uplift in results, helping the team to eight points from four games.
Mousinho has long made it clear he is eager to keep the former Ipswich man, who joined on a free transfer in August 2024 on the eve of the Blues’ Championship return.
And while the player and his advisors have been informed that Dozzell remains in the club’s plans, Pompey are presently concentrating on staying in the Championship.
‘We have indicated we would like to do that’
Mousinho told The News: ‘Doz has been pivotal, he has been excellent this season. He has started every single game he has been available to start, which tells you what I think of him. He’s gone on from strength to strength
‘Keeping him here is something we are looking to work on. It’s not a conversation we’ve been having over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been focusing and making sure we try to maintain our Championship status first.
‘However, we’ve had the initial conversations just to indicate we would like to do that. We’re not looking to keep him because of his recent run of form, we’ve wanted to do that for a long time. We are going to try to do that in the summer.
‘We just indicated to the player that there’s going to be an offer there, we’ve not asked for anything from him.
‘My take is if I look at Doz’s performances, he is 100 per cent committed to the football club. To me, he doesn’t look like a player that is playing to be elsewhere.’
Hugely influential return after eight-game absence
Dozzell had missed just one Pompey match in all competitions after injuring his foot against Sheffield United in February.
He was subsequently sidelined for eight games before returning to action as a substitute at Norwich earlier this month, when his free-kick was put through his own net by Pelle Mattsson for a late leveller.
Returning to the starting XI against Oxford United, it was Dozzell’s 88th-minute equaliser which earned the 10-man Blues a gutsy point in a 2-2 draw.
He has subsequently remained in the team for wins against Middlesbrough and Ipswich which have positioned Mousinho’s men four points above the relegation zone with four games remaining.
‘We have taken a bit more of a risk with him’
Pompey’s head coach added: ‘You can probably tell how important I think Doz is because he has come back in and started the three games he has been available to start. He wasn’t available to start against Norwich, but came on for 25 minutes.
‘We have taken a bit more risk with him than we probably would have liked, but Doz had a contact injury, it wasn’t a muscular injury, so that was something we were confident with. The medical staff indicated he would be all right to do that.
‘He came in for Luke Le Roux off the back of the Norwich game, where Luke had played very, very well. Doz has had to come in and make sure he keeps his shirt.’