‘Not straightforward’: Portsmouth midfielder transfer latest with window business set to quicken
The Pompey boss outlines the transfer position over the midfield department, with the first additions expected before Sheffield Wednesday.
John Mousinho has indicated a new midfielder is on Pompey’s transfer shopping list.
But it will be a single man in that area added to the group ‘at most’ in the January window, in the wake of losing Mark Kosznovszky for up to a year.
Boss on new midfielder: ‘Looking actively - but not straightforward’
Mousinho acknowledged adding a new operator in the group to the middle of the park is ‘not straightforward’, as the football operation bids to bolster a squad fighting for their Championship lives.
The Blues head coach referred to the ‘net cost’ surrounding an addition to supplement the existing options centrally, with Kosznovszky still on the wage bill as he faces a long period of rehabilitation.
That’s in contrast to Minhyeok Yang who will be replaced with a like-for-like loan signing, following his Spurs recall and consequently joining Coventry City.
There’s no doubt about the importance of what lies ahead in the coming weeks, with Mousinho expecting up to six new additions before the deadline on February 1. That number was offered up by the Pompey boss, before losing Franco Umeh (hamstring) and Harvey Blair (hip flexor) to injuries against Arsenal on Sunday.
Mousinho last week spoke about being ‘creative’ with business in the wake of the Kosznovszky blow, but does expect to sign a new midfielder.
He said: ‘Centre midfield, the interesting one is what we do with Mark.
‘With Minhyeok, he goes back and it frees a loan space and a place in the squad opens up.
‘With Mark, we can deregister him so it’s fine and a space in the squad, but we still have the money allocated in the budget.
‘I think that takes a different conversation to what happens with Minhyeok. There’s no net cost to the football club to replace Minheyok, whereas there would be a cost to replace Mark.
‘So we’re looking actively at that - but it’s not straightforward.
‘Before that (Mark’s injury) we weren’t necessarily looking to strengthen there. We had Mark (Kosznovszky), Swifty, Doz, Luke (Le Roux) and Marlon (Pack) across those options, so it’ll be one at most.’
Rob Atkinson shows need for transfer flexibility
Mousinho made it clear Pompey can’t afford to be tied down to searching for a new midfielder with certain attributes, as they look for new blood in that department. He feels flexibility can open the doors to the kind of business which has served his club well in the past.
Mousinho added: ‘You can’t just go for a profile, and say this is the player you want. You have to see what’s available at the time, if that fits your football club and style of play that’s the best thing to do.
‘We did that with Rob (Atkinson) last year. I knew how good a player Rob was, but he’d had two years out of the game.
‘I knew what kind of impact he could have. He never hit any top speeds or sprint distances in his time here, but he was just a really good player and put his body on the line - that was good enough for me.’