Portsmouth boss delivers retained list update as Blues agonise over futures of out-of-contract seven

Although John Mousinho is targeting the end of this week before publicly declaring which out of contract players still have Fratton futures.

The Blues have seven players whose existing deals expire this summer - in addition to the six loanees returning to parent clubs.

They consist of Tom Lowery, Anthony Scully, Kusini Yengi, Zak Swanson, Alexander Milosevic, Cohen Bramall and Ben Killip.

Of the seven, the most intriguing decisions centre on Yengi and Swanson, with the club holding a 12-month option on both - with neither part of the squad in the final two games.

Yengi was overlooked for Sheffield Wednesday and Hull, with loan striker Mark O’Mahony instead preferred in the 20-man match-day squads on each occasion.

While a heel issue for Swanson forced his omission, although he had already been dropped from the starting XI since a disappointing showing against Derby.

And, according to Mousinho, the futures of all seven will become clear this week.

He told The News: ‘I suspect the retained list will be done at the back end of the week, there’s a couple of bits we still need to tie up.

‘We’ve still got a bit of time with a couple of decisions, so we’re still going to tie it up quickly.

‘There are a couple (of players) to communicate with, it has been a hectic weekend because of the Knightsie match as well, so we need to just go back, we need to double check everything with the board, then go from there.’

Portsmouth’s obvious summer departures

Scully and Lowery will be obvious departures, having finished the season in League Two with Colchester and Crewe respectively.

Having returned on loan to Colchester in February, Scully has subsequently featured nine times, while scored in a 2-0 victory at Newport County.

Boss Danny Cowley has already intimated he would like to keep the former Lincoln winger permanently once his Fratton Park contract expires after a wretched two years on the south coast.

In the case of Lowery, who made one Carabao Cup outing for Pompey in August, he has made 17 appearances on loan at former club Crewe, of which 15 have been starts.

The midfielder missed the Railwaymen’s last match of the season - following a red card against Tranmere in the previous match - as they finished 13th.

Milosevic arrived in March as a free agent to bolster their central defensive options with Hayden Matthews, Conor Shaughnessy, Rob Atkinson and Ibane Bowat all injured.

However, he then also suffered injury, on the eve of a potential debut against Coventry, so his short-team deal ends without a single appearance.

Bramall has featured 12 times for Mousinho since his move from Rotherham, yet totalled just five minutes from the final five games, having returned to the bench after starting against Coventry.

As for Killip, he is eager to remain at Fratton Park and fight for a place in the Championship after starting the last two matches of the campaign.

Pompey already have three contracted goalkeepers for the 2025-26 season - Nicolas Schmid, Jordan Archer and Toby Steward - yet should Killip stay, it would allow Steward to again go out on loan to aid his development.

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