Portsmouth’s squad list confirmed with Swansea City loanee, Liverpool signing and former Leicester City man not named in group
The EFL have confirmed Pompey’s squad list for the rest of the season, with winger touted for Sheffield United return, £1m summer signing and loanee all absent - here’s the details today.
Pompey’s Championship squad has been confirmed by the EFL.
And the headline news is a trio of absent players, who were all named in the Blues group for the first half of the season.
Swansea City loanee Florian Bianchini, defender Josh Knight and winger Harvey Blair all fail to make the list submitted to the league, following the close of the transfer window.
Injured Hungarian midfielder Mark Kosznovszky, goalkeeper Jordan Archer and left-back Jacob Farrell, who joined Australian A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers last week, are all also absent.
Pompey have opted to name a 23-man senior group, which means they can add a further two names to the squad list at a later date. They did keep one space open for a potential free agent over the first half of the season, however.
That number is supplemented by 10 contracted under-21 players, with none of those options counting towards the 25-man ceiling.
Knight, who arrived at Fratton Park last summer in a reported £1m deal from German side Hannover 96, has not featured since the end of November.
The 28-year-old has been struggling with a back injury, with the centre-back still expected to be a long way off a return to fitness.
The amount of time Knight has now been off his feet with a stress fracture, along with the time needed to build his return, would take a best-case recovery period into April.
Bianchini doesn’t make the group after a difficult loan stay at PO4, with the Frenchman’s last outing also in November and the attacker dealing with a knee issue. Pompey are under no obligation to name loan players in their squad list.
Blair represents a more interesting absence, however, with the winger slated for a return to selection availability against Sheffield United this weekend after a hip-flexor problem.
The £300,000 signing from Liverpool has dealt with a string of injury problems in his time at Fratton Park, but has also shown flashes of promise - including on his last outing against Premier League leaders Arsenal in the FA Cup.
Pompey’s EFL squad list: Ebou Adams, Aji Alese, Millenic Alli, Keshi Anderson, Colby Bishop, Ibane Bowat, Jacob Brown, Josef Bursik, Gustavo Caballero, Conor Chaplin, Terry Devlin, Andre Dozzell, Ben Killip, Luke Le Roux, Josh Murphy, Connor Ogilvie, Marlon Pack, Regan Poole, Nicolas Schmid, Conor Shaughnessy, Zak Swanson, John Swift, Jordan Williams.
Contracted under-21 players: Harry Clout, Madiodio Dia, Makenzie Kirk, Hayden Matthews, Adrian Segecic, Tayo Singerr, Toby Steward, Reuben Swann, Franco Umeh, Thomas Waddingham.