Portsmouth boss predicts transfer window frenzy as he outlines recruitment direction amid talk of Arsenal and Millwall moves

And the Blues head coach revealed he believes his main area of focus will be plundering Premier League clubs for talent between now and 11pm on Tuesday night.

Pompey are hoping to get a deal for Arsenal’s Miguel Azeez over the line, although there are some fears over Championship clubs hijacking the deal late on.

And Cowley has indicated moves for second-tier players are unlikely, after it emerged Millwall defender Mahlon Romeo was of interest.

A striker looks to be the final piece in the jigsaw, as the head coach looks at the best way to work his options and use the remainder of his playing budget.

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Cowley said: ‘I think things are going to move quite quickly in the next 48 hours and we wouldn’t want to leave ourselves light.

‘Callum (Johnson) going helps us financially. We didn’t really want to lose Callum in terms of the balance of the squad

‘We might have to get a cheaper replacement for Callum and then we might get a cheaper player in another position.

‘We’re just going to do what we have done all transfer window, and that's working really really hard to try find the best players available for the finances we have – that's where my focus is.

‘We’re really determined to get the best that we can. I think we’ve done really well to get what we’ve got - we knew that it would take time, but we’ve done better than we anticipated.’

Cowley told The News he was an admirer of Romeo following the 1-0 defeat to Wigan on Saturday, but the right-back was out of Pompey’s price range.

Azeez is the midfield priority after The News revealed he was the top of the 42-year-old’s midfield shopping list.

Cowley wouldn’t be drawn on his pursuit of the 18-year-old but explained similar deals with Premier League could be the main area of focus now.

He said: ‘I think for us it’s never to talk about a player that is with another club, I think it’s a bit disrespectful to the other club involved. I think you guys (the press) always tend to know more than we do, which is credit to your work.

‘I think we are looking for an 8/10, we’d like another creative player in the final third. There's a lot I would like and there's some we can’t get to this window as we all know. But we would like to add another creative midfielder if we could.

‘I think we've got some trust with some big clubs in terms of their young players and obviously take on their young players with a lot less finance because they know we’ll look after them and help them with their development for sporting reasons. That can be positive for us.

‘I don’t think we have that kind of finances to be thinking along those lines (going for Championship players).’

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