Portsmouth boss reveals strategy on loans with futures of Ipswich Town, Tottenham Hotspur, Blackpool, Huddersfield Town and West Brom men to be decided

Pompey will continue to be reliant on loans moving forward.
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And Danny Cowley believes the Blues need to accept they won’t have everything on their terms when they are using the market for temporary additions.

But the head coach feels going down the road of loans is a worthwhile approach, with it opening the door to players who otherwise wouldn’t be attainable.

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Pompey have five players on loan at the moment in Josh Koroma, Josh Griffiths, Joe Pigott, Owen Dale and Dane Scarlett.

New sporting director Richard Hughes has suggested moving away from loans is a consideration moving forward.

Cowley echoed that would be the ideal route to take, but is not sure how realistic that would be.

He said: ‘We’d like to have our own players, of course.

‘In an ideal world you’d have a squad of 24 who are all contracted to Portsmouth, and have Portsmouth as their primary focus.

Joe Pigott is one of the five loans who could depart in January.Joe Pigott is one of the five loans who could depart in January.
Joe Pigott is one of the five loans who could depart in January.
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‘Is that realistic? Probably not in League One and I don’t know if it’s realistic in the Championship.

‘Unless you have serious financial clout in terms of transfer fees, there’s only a very small amount of players who are unattached, available on free transfers and good enough to play for Portsmouth.

‘Then when there’s a player available on loan who’s significantly better than who’s available on a free transfer, you have a decision to make.

‘We don’t want to be so reliant on loans, but we understand the situation we’re in, where the club is at and what we’re trying to do.’

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Cowley is clear Pompey currently have players at the club who they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to attract or afford because of the loan market.

That makes operating in that area a necessity moving forward even with the associated risks of potentially losing those you’ve come to rely on.

Cowley added: ‘The ambition is to do that (have your own players).

‘But one of the benefits of the loan system is you can sign players who weren’t available for you to sign permanently.

‘That’s whether because of a transfer fee or their salary.

‘You then pay a contribution to their salary.

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‘When you do that you have to accept the club who are paying the rest of the fee want some of the terms on their side as well. That’s just fair, isn’t it.

‘We only pay a contribution to their wages, that’s the reality.

‘But we understand the loan system will be part of our strategy in the short and medium term.’

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