'He has done really well': D-day with Portsmouth boss to deliver Nathan Ferguson decision after four-week trial
The former West Brom man has spent the last fortnight trialling with the Blues
Nathan Ferguson will today learn his Pompey fate.
The central defender has spent the summer operating under the pseudonym of Triallist A in the Blues' friendly schedule and been a regular at their fixtures.
However, with Saturday's victory over PEC Zwolle representing their final summer game, John Mousinho must now decide whether the former Crystal Palace man has a Fratton Park future.
Ferguson has been with Pompey since shortly before their Slovakian training camp and is the last remaining triallist.
However, he was among six unused substitutes in Saturday's last-gasp 1-0 victory over Zwolle, while also didn’t feature in the match at Brighton Under-21s.
Regardless, for the 24-year-old, today represents D-Day over his time on the south coast.
‘We will make that decision early this week’
Mousinho told The News: ‘We will make that decision early this week. We still feel he has done really well for us and has played plenty of minutes in pre-season.
‘We had the two games this week, one against Havant and Brighton under-21s and obviously the game on Saturday, we knew there would be opportunities for him to play.
‘There were opportunities for him to play against Reading and Havant, that was good for him and good for the football club as well.
‘So we’ve had him in the building and we will be making that decision.’
Ferguson made four friendly appearances for the Blues over the summer, featuring against Woking, Farnborough, Reading and the Hawks.
He played at right-back in the latter two games, establishing himself as among the better performers in last week’s goalless draw at Westleigh Park.
However, with Mousinho subsequently prioritising match minutes for his potential starting XI at Oxford United on the opening day, Ferguson hasn't been used in the last two games.
The ex-West Brom man wasn’t among the 22 players used against Brighton Under-21s, with even Paddy Lane involved days before completing his transfer to Reading.
On Saturday against Zwolle, Mousinho introduced six substitutes, which included debuts for Florian Bianchini, Luke Le Roux and Mark Kosznovszky, but Ferguson remained on the bench.
Three Portsmouth triallists in summer of 2025
The Blues have already declined to follow up interest in two triallists this season - goalkeepers Stuart Moore and Alfie Whiteman.
In the case of Ferguson, the Blues are well stocked for defenders at present, with four centre-halves, two left-backs and three right-backs all available.
In addition, they are attempting to offload centre-half Tom McIntyre, who has only recently returned from injury having missed their entire pre-season friendly programme.