Portsmouth January arrivals: What Danny Cowley is waiting on after sanctioning Ellis Harrison's move to Fleetwood and freeing up space in Blues transfer budget

Danny Cowley is finally ready to push the ‘Go’ button on his January recruitment drive.
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But the Pompey boss has to wait on the green light from the clubs he’s wanting to do business with before getting the chance to act on his plans.

Cowley kick-started the process of adding to his squad by sanctioning Ellis Harrison’s move to Fleetwood over the weekend.

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The striker’s departure saw the Blues receive a welcome undisclosed fee for his services.

It also freed up some much-needed space in the Fratton Park budget, with the 27-year-old comfortably among Pompey’s top earners before his exit.

The Blues will be hoping Harrison’s departure won’t be the last among a group of soon-to-be out-of-contract fringe players who have been told they can leave during the current window. On-loan Gassan Ahadme’s return to parent club Norwich will also facilitate additional spending – although, in comparison, that will be nominal.

But, together, it’s enough to get the ball rolling on the recruitment side of things.

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Now all Cowley needs is the go-ahead from those whose players are at the top of his wish list.

Transfer plans: Pompey boss Danny CowleyTransfer plans: Pompey boss Danny Cowley
Transfer plans: Pompey boss Danny Cowley

‘Ellis’ departure frees up some finance and allows us to work,’ said the Pompey boss.

‘And as soon as we get the go-ahead from the clubs we will start.

‘Sometimes you are in the chain, there are a lot of moving parts.

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‘There are players we could have today, but the ones we want you have to be really patient for. So we’ve got to try to play that game.

‘We know what we want, we know who we want. Whether we can get who we want remains to be seen.

‘What we had to do first and foremost is create the money, create the finance, which we’ve done. Now that allows us some flexibility.’

The completion of this weekend’s FA Cup third-round fixtures could trigger movement in the market, with many clubs higher up the chain preferring to keep hold of players in order to fulfil fixtures at this difficult time in the season.

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And if it does, Cowley said he was enthusiastic at the prospect of what lies ahead for the Blues.

‘I am excited,’ he added.

‘I want to improve the team, I want to get better. I know what we need and we’ve just got to try to bring in 2-3 which will help and complement the current group.

‘If we can do that, it’s only going to help us accelerate where we want to go.'

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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