John Mousinho addresses Portsmouth squad exit plans - and confirms ex-Millwall man can go
Pompey will need to offload players this month to accommodate proposed new signings
John Mousinho admits he would consider deregistering members of his Pompey squad in order to be ‘as strong as possible’.
And he has confirmed the Blues are looking to move on Jordan Archer this month as the out-of-favour goalkeeper seeks regular first-team football.
With the head coach keen to recruit up to six players during the January transfer window, space urgently needs to be created to accommodate fresh faces.
As it stands, there is one spot available in the 25-man Football League squad list which was last submitted in September, with Archer the player missing out.
In the past, Ben Stevenson and Tom Lowery weren’t included in the first half of the 2024-25 season, thereby stopping them from playing for the Blues competitively.
To subscribe to The Portsmouth News’ Pompey coverage and more click here
As did Colby Bishop at the same time, having undergone heart surgery, although he was eventually registered in November 2024, replacing the injured Ibane Bowat in the squad.
And Mousinho is adamant Pompey must be ‘flexible and adaptable’ in meeting the challenges of improving the squad - even if it means individual players are not registered.
Portsmouth boss: You have to be flexible and adaptable
He told The News: ‘We don’t really want to be in a situation where we have players on the books that we have to deregister - but we’ll do whatever it takes to be as strong as possible.
‘After 18 months in the job, I didn’t think we would ever take more than five loans at a time, but that’s exactly what happened to strengthen the side. I thought it worked out pretty well in the end too.
‘So you have to be flexible and adaptable. If we move a couple of players on, then great, we’ve got one spot available, but I think we’ll have to see how that progresses.
‘If you look over the past few weeks, pretty much everyone has now contributed, everyone has played a part. Harvey has come in and started a couple of games, Franco has come on and played, Makenzie has come back in from not having played the last few games, I thought he did a really good job against Charlton.
‘It’s going to be an interesting one, there’s no cut and dry options in terms of what we’re going to do, we’ll have to see.’
Ex-Spurs keeper poised to leave
The 32-year-old wasn’t registered in Pompey’s 25-man Football League squad in the first half of this season and, with Nicolas Schmid, Josef Bursik and Ben Killip on their books, that situation won’t change.
Pompey attempted to offload the former Spurs and Millwall man last summer, with Salford showing interest at one point, yet he remained at Fratton Park.
With six months left on the Fratton Park deal he signed in June 2024, it would now suit all parties for Archer to find a new club and play football once more.
‘It’s more about getting a move if he wants to play football’
Mousinho added: ‘Jordan has been brilliant, amazing around the place, he trains really hard every day, always available for us. It's more about getting him a move if he wants to play football.
‘I think he does, but it’s obviously difficult for him, probably because of the lack of playing time over the past year or so.
‘When he has come in and played for us, though, he has done really well.’