Portsmouth boss addresses reports of interest in Sunderland and ex-Bristol City and Preston defender

With the Blues on the hunt for a new central defender, they have been linked with a move for Sunderland’s Bailey Wright.

The 30-year-old has started six Championship games for the Black Cats this season, totalling 16 appearances in all competitions.

Pompey have recorded successive clean sheets since Mousinho took over as head coach, the latest being a 2-0 victory at Fleetwood on Tuesday night.

But with Sean Raggett and Ryley Towler their only fit centre-halves at present, they are on the lookout for another – with Wright mooted as a target.

Mousinho told The News: ‘I will have to speak to the recruitment team – Rich (Hughes) and Phil (Boardman) – and see where we are with everything.

‘That will be something we will do today and really knuckle down, but my entire focus was not on that on Tuesday night. It might have been on their part, but my focus has been on the game, so I will sit down and have a look at what we're going to do.

‘I know about Bailey, he’s an excellent player and got Sunderland out of League One last year.

‘When you are saying names like that, of course he would be a really solid addition to the squad.

‘But I genuinely haven’t had the chance to really look into that yet – we definitely will over the next couple of days.’

Wright was a playing colleague of Pompey’s head coach at Preston, primarily in the 2012-13 League One season.

Mousinho would go on to feature for Stevenage, Gillingham, Burton and Oxford until his arrival at Fratton Park last Friday.

While Wright, who totalled 205 games after coming through the ranks for the Lilywhites, would subsequently play for Bristol City and now Sunderland.

Mousinho added: ‘I used to be a central midfielder back in those days, then my legs fell off and I went to centre-half from the age of 28.

‘I was with Bailey when he was a young lad at Preston, playing in front of him. He was a solid centre-half then as well.’