'I suspect there will be': Portsmouth boss delivers encouraging transfer news for Fratton faithful
The Blues have made three signings so far in this summer’s transfer window
John Mousinho is targeting another new arrival before Saturday’s trip to Bristol Rovers.
The Blues have so far recruited Odin Bailey, Eoin Kenny and Rocco Shein during the summer transfer window.
And, according to their head coach, they could well be adding to those three recruits over the next 48 hours.
Certainly Serbian attacker Marko Milovanovic remains well within their sights, while A-League winger Luke Brooke-Smith is another high on Pompey’s wish list.
The Blues are scheduled to travel to the Memorial Stadium on Saturday to take on the League Two side for their latest pre-season friendly.
And Mousinho ‘suspects’ there will be another new face on board before they face Rovers.
‘We are also close to a couple of others’
He told The News: ‘I suspect there will be maybe one in before the weekend.
‘We are also close to a couple of others, but it’s very, very slow moving, particularly with the types of transfers they are doing. Any time there is significant money involved, it becomes a lot slower.
‘The biggest comparison I can give would be the first summer I was here (2023), where we had nine through the door by the time we went to Spain for our training camp.
‘Of those, five were free transfers, they were extremely simple, they are the ones which are easy to do. Now it’s just the complexity of the deals, particularly when dealing with European clubs or clubs from beyond.
‘We’ve got Rocco in, we are really pleased with that one, it’s an excellent addition. He was a target from very, very early on as soon as we identified him.
‘Odin and Eoin have come in as well, so we’ve definitely strengthened the squad. Now it’s about building towards having those front-line first-team players coming in so those ones do take their time.
‘We are going to take our time to make sure we’ve got the right ones.’
Rocco Shein pencilled in for Blues debut
Following his unveiling on Monday night, Shein has still to feature for the Blues, having sat out subsequent friendlies against Woking and Aldershot.
However, the Estonian international is pencilled in for an appearance against Bristol Rovers, offering the Fratton faithful a tantalising first glimpse of his talents.
Mousinho has earmarked Shein for a central midfield role in his Blues side, operating further forward than the six, and he is convinced fans will be ‘excited’ over what the 23-year-old can bring.
He added: ‘Rocco is more of an eight, we see him in that left-hand slot.
‘He had an excellent season last year, a full international, has a huge amount of talent, physically is very good as well. I think the Pompey faithful can be excited seeing him pull on a shirt and getting onto the pitch.’