Latest: Portsmouth's 25-man Football League squad state of play - Free slots, under-21s and what must be done
Football League clubs have another four weeks to decide their squad lists
Pompey have four weeks to finalise their Football League 25-man squad, yet it is shaping up to be a comfortable process.
Despite having 30 players on their books at present, John Mousinho has potentially four spots available for those classed as over-21.
Although that takes into account the possible departures of out-of-favour pair Matt Ritchie and Tom McIntyre - or not registering them at all.
With the summer transfer window shutting on Monday, September 1 at 7pm, by the end of that week clubs must have submitted their 25-man squad lists to the Football League.
Lowery and Stevenson not registered last season
Last September saw Tom Lowery and Ben Stevenson left out, thereby preventing them from appearing for Pompey until January 2025 at least. As it turned out, neither featured for the club again.
Colby Bishop also wasn’t registered following heart surgery, although later replaced the injured Ibane Bowat in November 2024 after recovering much quicker than expected.
This time around, as it stands, there is no such headache, with 23 of the 25 slots accounted for, should you include Ritchie and McIntyre.
That is largely thanks to the Blues possessing seven players who qualify as under-21s, therefore not being counted in the final 25 - but can still feature.
Rules state that anyone born on or after January 1, 2004 is regarded as an under-21 player, with Terry Devlin (born November 2003) no longer part of that category, despite being aged 21. That also applies to Harvey Blair (September 2003), another 21-year-old, with both now graduating to the main list.
Portsmouth have seven players qualifying as under-21s
Those who are under-21s, though, are Reuben Swann, Thomas Waddingham, Hayden Matthews, Adrian Segecic, Abdoulaye Kamara, Toby Steward and Harry Clout.
Regardless of that outcome, the 20-year-old doesn’t count towards the 25-man squad so, whether he stays or goes, has absolutely no impact on meeting those regulations.
Encouragingly, Waddingham, Matthews and Segecic will be regular members of Mousinho’s first-team squad this season, so their classification as under-21s is a huge boost when calculating numbers.
As for the 23 players on Pompey’s books who aren’t regarded as under-21s, they include the four summer signings of John Swift, Mark Kosznovszky, Luke Le Roux and Florian Bianchini.
Three Portsmouth options to create more slots
Mousinho does have the opportunity to reduce that list to 21, of course, depending on the transfer outcomes of Ritchie and McIntyre. Certainly Ritchie, who has attracted interest, is the more likely to leave before deadline day.
Presumably he will get fixed up somewhere, creating one space, while the Blues could well opt not to register McIntyre in a worst-case-scenario for the central defender.
Another option would be offloading Jordan Archer in favour of a goalkeeper who qualifies as an under-21 player. As third-choice stopper, Mousinho has previously admitted they wouldn’t stand in the ex-Spurs man’s way if he wished to leave.
Pompey’s preference is for four goalkeepers on their books this term and presently there are three - Nicolas Schmid, Ben Killip and Archer. As for Toby Steward, he is spending the season on loan at St Johnstone.
Still, regardless of Archer, Pompey will, realistically, have four spots available in the 25-man Football League squad during the final month of the transfer window.
Pompey: Goalkeepers: Nicolas Schmid, Ben Killip, Jordan Archer. Defenders: Jordan Williams, Zak Swanson, Jacob Farrell, Connor Ogilvie, Regan Poole, Tom McIntyre, Conor Shaughnessy, Ibane Bowat. Midfielders: Marlon Pack, Andre Dozzell, Terry Devlin, John Swift, Luke Le Roux, Mark Kosznovszky. Attackers: Josh Murphy, Harvey Blair, Florian Bianchini, Callum Lang, Matt Ritchie. Strikers: Colby Bishop.
Contracted under-21 players: Reuben Swann, Thomas Waddingham, Hayden Matthews, Adrian Segecic, Abdoulaye Kamara, Toby Steward, Harry Clout.