Latest: Portsmouth confirm overseas transfer focus - and detail key factors for ramping up hunt

Andy Cullen has confirmed Pompey will put a focus on overseas recruitment this summer.

And the Blues chief executive has detailed the thinking behind intensifying their focus on landing players from beyond these shores.

The News revealed last week the recruitment team are looking heavily into landing players from abroad, with the football operation seeing greater spending value from doing so.

The Australian market has been used extensively, since sporting director Rich Hughes’ arrival at the club was confirmed in September 2022.

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Terry Devlin came from Northern Ireland side Glentoran two years ago, while Pompey also landed players from mainland Europe last year.

Austrian Nico Schmid has been a runaway since joining from BW Linz for 400,000 Euros, while Elias Sorensen came from Denmark and Guinean Abdoulaye Kamara via German giants Borussia Dortmund.

Cullen explained Pompey believe the free agent market doesn’t requisite quality this year, following on from Josh Murphy being the big success story of the season after arriving as an out-of-contract player last year.

Likewise, the Blues don’t see as many under-21 options stepping up and being able to make an immediate impact at Championship level.

Pompey are potentially looking to up their spending this year, with Cullen confirming the value as being seen as coming from abroad for players hungry to make the grade in the second tier.

Pompey transfer ‘success’ in Australia and Europe

He said: ‘This year there’s fewer free agents in the market, that then starts to drive up costs a little bit more as well.

‘I think the under-21 pool is a bit weaker, it doesn’t seem to be quite as deep as it was last year. ‘That’s why we continue to look a little bit wider.

‘We’ve had some really good success in bringing over players from Australia, which is a really good market to look into at the moment.

‘I think there are about 31 players from Australia in the EFL - and we have four of them!

‘We’ve also had some success going into Austria last year with Nico (Schmid) and bringing him cross.

‘We’ve gone elsewhere last year as well, with varying degrees of success.

‘I think there’s an ambition for a lot of players at a certain level, the young emerging talent which still remains a core area of focus.

‘I think there’s an ambition for those players to come over and ply their trade in the Championship, which continues to be the second biggest and most watched league in Europe in terms of attendances.’

Pompey now have eight days to wait until they can officially get their transfer business underway, with the transfer window opening on June 1.

The window stays open until June 10, before closing until June 16 and then staying open until 7pm on September 1.

The window is not open to stay up for more than a total 89 days, hence the short closure, with the initial opening period to allow teams competing in the Fifa Club World Cup to do some early business.

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