Portsmouth boss pinpoints how Mark Kosznovszky and Luke Le Roux will fit into his starting XI - and when they will play for first time
Pompey signed the MTK Budapest and IFK Varnamo midfielders on Friday
Pompey kicked off the weekend by unveiling two central midfield recruits in one day - and John Mousinho has pinpointed how they will fit into his side.
Yet he has warned it won’t be until next weekend’s visit of PEK Zwolle before the Fratton faithful will be granted their first glimpse of the duo’s talents.
Kosznovszky arrives from Hungry side MTK Budapest, having long been linked, while Le Roux has featured 17 times for top-flight side IFK Varnamo in the current Swedish season.
And Mousinho has revealed how - and when - they will line-up for the Blues.
Portsmouth boss: ‘He’s been on the radar of plenty of clubs over here’
He told The News: ‘These are two players we are excited to bring in, two players coming in from the continent, which took a little longer than we expected.
‘Luke has been on the radar for a long time, but we just wanted to get that position right, we wanted to make sure we got the right six, we have always wanted to strengthen there.
‘Mark has been a player on our radar this summer and, with both, we think we have bolstered up the centre of midfield. Luke as a six and Mark much more of an eight.
‘Technically, Mark is a very good player, he likes to handle the ball in tight areas and get the side playing, but he can run as well. He is physically quite good, not huge, but he does get around the pitch.
‘He is a goal-scoring threat as well, that’s a big area of his game which he can do a lot more in. If anybody has seen any of the highlights, he scored a couple of cracking goals last season. He’s definitely an eight and a player which excites us.
‘Luke is a six, much more of a defensive midfielder. He sits in, dictates play and gets around the pitch well, physically too. He keeps everything simple and is a very, very good player in and out of possession.
‘He has chopped and changed a couple of different clubs over in Europe, Volendam to Varnamo. Certainly this year he’s had a better season and been on the radar of plenty of clubs over here.’
17 appearances in the current Swedish top-flight season
With the Sweden season well underway, Le Roux made 17 appearances for IFK Varnamo before his Fratton Park transfer. However, he hasn’t featured since a 1-0 defeat at Hammarby on July 5, while his future was being decided.
As for Kosznovszky, although MTK Budapest’s campaign finished in May, he has since been involved in the Hungarian club’s summer training programme.
Although neither will be considered for the Hawks on Tuesday night (7pm), with outings against PEK Zwolle more likely unveilings.
‘We just need a bit of patience’
Mousinho added: ‘They didn’t train with us on Friday, we didn’t get all the paperwork through in time, but they did on Saturday morning and will be with the first-team on Monday.
‘The fans probably won’t see them in action until Saturday (against PEK Zwolle). It’s a difficult one, Mark is in a good spot physically, he has been training with MTK in pre-season.
‘Luke is in a different spot because, while his season has still been going on, over the last couple of weeks he hasn’t been playing or training due to the transfer speculation.
‘We have to be careful with them, particularly as when you bring players over it’s not straightforward, they don’t drive down the motorway to get here. They are coming from Europe, it’s a 3-4 day process,
‘They have both been in England since Wednesday and it’s going to be Monday before they train properly. We just need a bit of patience with them.’