'The reality': Portsmouth boss' player contract admission despite uncertain Championship future
The Blues have eight players out of contract in the summer
John Mousinho is adamant Pompey’s uncertain Championship future will not impact on the contract talk progress with his current squad.
The out-of-form Blues are worryingly in freefall, positioned one place above the relegation zone with eight matches remaining, as they battle to avoid the drop.
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These are also unsettling times for the eight Fratton Park players whose deals are scheduled to expire at the season’s end, among them Connor Ogilvie, Marlon Pack, Andre Dozzell and Zak Swanson.
Regardless of not actually knowing which division they will be competing in next season, however, Pompey have no intention of putting talks on hold.
Instead they are ploughing ahead trying to retain some of their best out-of-contract talent - irrespective of whether it will be the Championship or League One in 2026-27.
‘That is always a tricky one’
Mousinho told The News: ‘Contracts are nothing to do with me, but they are progressing away from the pitch.
‘We don’t know which division we’ll be in, but we’ll still have those contract talks. Every contract anyway has got a Championship wage and League One wage, that’s the reality of it.
‘It’s nothing to do with me. We are hopefully planning for the Championship and that’s all we’ve got to do - and make sure that we do our best to stay in it.
‘With contracts that is always a tricky one, I don’t think we had this many players out of contract at this stage last year, so it was a lot more straightforward, just focus on the season.
‘That’s all we can do. If we put all our eggs into the same basket, which is fully focused on picking up points, fully focused on staying in the league, that’s all we can do - and see what happens after that.’
Eight players out of contract
Pompey do not hold a club option on Ogilvie, Pack, Dozzell and Swanson, ensuring they could potentially walk away from Fratton Park in the summer, irrespective of whether Mousinho wants to keep them.
However, in the cases of Pack and Ogilvie, the experienced duo have publicly announced their desire to remain on the south coast.
Certainly in the case of Pompey’s skipper, whatever division the Blues occupy next season will have absolutely no impact on his wish to prolong his stay at his home-town club.
Elsewhere in the squad, Toby Steward and Reuben Swann are also out of contract, although the Blues possess 12-month options of each of them.
Should Pompey wish to keep the talented pair - and in the case of Steward that is certain - they can activate the clause rather than negotiate fresh deals.
Jordan Archer to depart
Another whose deal is up is Jordan Archer, who is certain to leave Fratton Park having not even been included in their 25-man Football League squad list this season.
The final player is Harry Clout, who signed his first professional deal in July 2025 after graduating from the Academy, although Pompey have not announced whether there is an option.
Frustratingly, the attacker has this season struggled for games during three loans - Farnborough, Welling and the Hawks - which were meant to aid his development.
In addition to the eight, all six of the Blues’ loan players will be returning to their parent clubs - Florian Bianchini, Conor Chaplin, Millenic Alli, Aji Alese, Gustavo Caballero and Jacob Brown.
Although, in the case of Caballero, the Blues hold an exclusive transfer option with Santos to turn his Fratton Park stay into a permanent deal.
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