'We wanted to sign two centre-forwards': Portsmouth chief's transfer window admission amid goal-scoring headache
According to their sporting director, the Blues wanted to recruit Jacob Brown plus another centre-forward in January
Rich Hughes has revealed Pompey were in the market to sign another centre-forward in January - in addition to Jacob Brown.
However, the proposed deal was scrapped 24 hours before the end of the window after the fee requested by the player’s club became ‘completely disproportionate with the value’.
Brown represents the Blues’ sole piece of business in the striker position during the January window, despite being the second-lowest scorers in the Championship.
According to Hughes, a centre-forward with a current Football League club was also identified to provide much-needed competition to Colby Bishop.
The target, who the sporting director has declined to name, would have joined along with Luton loanee Brown, rather than being an alternative signing to the 27-year-old.
Yet the potential move was eventually called off amid concerns over value for money.
‘We made several bids for the player’
Hughes told The News: ‘We were very active in terms of trying to buy a centre-forward and it is probably important to add that, had we done what we’d intended to do at centre-forward, it probably wouldn’t have stopped the Jacob Brown deal. It was going to be a scenario where we did both.
‘It was something we were active on, we made several bids for a player and, without going into any details out of respect for him being contracted somewhere else, those deals were rebuffed.
‘It ended up at a level which was higher than what was quoted and probably at a point where it just showed there was an absolute resistance to selling the player. So that was frustrating, but it was one we were actively pursuing in the window.
‘This happened the day before the window closed, so you need different plans and different scopes in there to be able to pivot from one thing to another - and we signed Jacob.
‘There’s a premium to be paid in the January window, which we understand. That’s one of the demands of the window, however there’s always an element that you might have to overpay - and that was our conversation with the board and we were thoroughly backed on that.
‘However, there becomes a point where the price becomes completely disproportionate with the value and where deals are left and you have a contingency plan.
‘It’s a really fine balance between knowing you are in a January window and knowing you are paying for a premium because, as much as you are trying to strengthen your team, the chances are you are probably damaging somebody else’s. There has to be a financial standpoint where it’s worth doing that.
‘That’s the decision we have to inform the board on. Me, Andy (Cullen), John, Brad (Wall) will make those decisions when we feel a value still fits within that parameter of a slight overinflation for January, but not when it actually gets to a point where it becomes an inhibited figure.’
Interest in Dundee’s Luke Graham
A transfer window move for Dundee’s Luke Graham was also unsuccessful, with Pompey instead signing Madiodio Dia from FC Haugesund.
The Blues believed they had matched the Scottish Premiership club’s valuation of the centre-half, with a figure of around £1.5m being tabled, however that changed in the final days of the window.
As a consequence, the potential Graham move was called off on deadline day.
‘There were goalposts removed’
Hughes added: ‘Effectively a fee was agreed for a defender and the price was put up again, that’s the snapshot of it - and that’s really frustrating.
‘There were numbers we spoke about which the club matched and then there were goalposts removed, which is understandable. It had probably moved to a point of making a deal obstructive and stopping it happening.
‘Without being too cryptic about going into individuals or fine details, the players we were actively targeting didn't move. So I think it’s an important distinction to make that they didn’t go to other places, they didn’t move.
‘I won’t mention names of individuals, people can do their own guesswork and see where they land with it.’