Why Christian Saydee exit offers renewed hope that Portsmouth transfer strategy can succeed
Pompey have paid transfer fees for 21 players since January 2023
Christian Saydee’s sale symbolises the tantalising first green shoots of Pompey’s recruitment strategy.
And it may not be the last success story of the summer as the patient wait to deliver player profits hopefully begins to yield increasing numbers.
Pompey’s league progress has perhaps been a little more rapid than anticipated since Rich Hughes and John Mousinho joined forces in January 2023, much to their immense credit.
Now, off the pitch, there are encouraging early signs that the Blues’ transfer model is also beginning to generate momentum in terms of buying potential - then selling for increased financial gains.
Purchased from Bournemouth in June 2023 for around £90,000, Saydee was the third transfer fee paid since Rich Hughes was appointed sporting director in October 2022.
Although Wigan’s outlay on the attacker is officially undisclosed, it is understood the amount is well in excess of the figure Blues purchased him for, thereby representing a profit.
Certainly not a windfall anywhere near rivalling Marcus Harness to Ipswich in recent times, yet the margin provides enough encouragement that the approach may be starting to find its feet a little.
‘Sunderland are a little further ahead in their journey of selling players’
‘More and more clubs are doing this,’ he said. ‘Sunderland are the same. Kristjaan Speakman (sporting director) is someone I know well and they have recruited a lot of exciting talent.
‘They are a little further ahead in their journey in terms of selling players. They bought Jack Clarke (from Spurs) who was high potential and he’s recently had a very good move back to the Premier League with Ipswich.
‘It takes a lot of time to get to that point. The next step for us is the next stage of the development, we have a lot of good young assets in the group now and it’s up to them to perform and flourish.’
There have now been 21 players bought by Pompey since January 2023, ranging from the first through the door in Ryley Towler to Adrian Segecic, their most recent capture for ‘a substantial six-figure fee’, according to Sydney FC.
Of those, three have departed without the Blues receiving a penny - Anthony Scully, Kusini Yengi and Cohen Bramall. Although, according to Yengi, the club waived any potential fee out of respect for his service to them.
Elias Sorensen arrived last summer before being offloaded to Norwegian club Valerenga in January for around £250,000, representing a similar fee to which they paid.
In addition, Owen Moxon ended his 12-month stint at Fratton Park when he was bought by Stockport, also in January, for an undisclosed fee also similar to the sum Pompey spent to recruit him from Carlisle.
Ryley Towler could be next
Of the remaining 15 purchased players on their books, Pompey could well cash in on Towler during the current transfer window, with the popular defender in desperate need of game time following two years spent on the bench.
Having made 10 Championship starts last season, including scoring against Swansea, the Blues can expect to comfortably make a profit on the five-figure sum they recruited him for from Bristol City - if they decide to sell.
Tom McIntyre also faces an uncertain future following a disappointing time on the south coast after his £50,000 switch from Reading in January 2024.
Other purchases since January 2023 include Paddy Lane, Terry Devlin, Callum Lang, Reuben Swann, Jacob Farrell, Abdoulaye Kamara, Nicolas Schmid, Harvey Blair, Ibane Bowat, Thomas Waddingham, Hayden Matthews, Ben Killip and Segecic.
Watford made £29.3m in player sales in 2023-24
Of course, Pompey are nowhere near the standards set by Watford, who made £29.3m in player sales in 2023-24, with Coventry (£23.7m), Blackburn (£23.6m) and Bristol City (£21.7m) also featuring prominently.
Sunderland’s player sales were £8.8m for that season - and this month sold Jobe Bellingham for a club record £27m to Borussia Dortmund. It had previously been reported the Black Caps spent £1.5m to recruit him from Birmingham.
Of course, such transfers are worlds apart from Pompey, yet these remain early days. In Christian Saydee, they have their first tentative steps in trying to catch up with established Championship clubs. It’s a start.
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