Latest: Portsmouth ready to ramp up spending as boss confirms next transfer move
The Pompey boss talks where his side’s transfer hunt is now going - and it means it’s time to loosen the purse strings...
Pompey are now turning their transfer attention to critical attacking business.
And John Mousinho has confirmed that means the Blues will now need to ramp up their summer spending for a critical area of recruitment focus.
Pompey turn to winger - and that means transfer spending
The head coach has acknowledged the summer player hunt is now heading into a critical phase, with bolstering the winger department the clear priority.
Four players have been landed so far, with Adrian Segecic, John Swift, Luke Le Roux and Mark Kosznovszky the men through the door.
Last Friday’s double deal for Le Roux and Kosznovszky leaves Pompey well stocked in the midfield department, ahead of next week’s Championship curtain-raiser with Oxford United.
The squad is looking light out wide, however, with Matt Ritchie set to depart and Harvey Blair sidelined through a hamstring injury.
That leaves Paddy Lane, Callum Lang and Adrian Segecic as the considerations for the right flank, though they are also the men who would operate centrally in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
It’s clear squad surgery is required there, with it also a reality of the transfer market it is the creative players who can change games who come at a premium.
Mousinho isn’t hiding from that reality, with some big fees being splashed at Championship level for forward-thinking players this summer.
Pompey are working against the clock with the days ticking down until the new campaign, though the 39-year-old stressed the club will hold their nerve for the right additions.
Mousinho has previously indicated the club are ready to push on from the £1.27m fee spent for Hayden Matthews in January.
Now that position looks set to be tested, when it comes to bringing in the kind of attacking recruit who can improve Pompey’s squad going forward.
Mousinho said: ‘There’s still a bit of work to do and the season has crept upon us really quickly.
‘The position is just the same really: We have to wait to do the right players at the right time and we don’t rush anything.
‘We have to make sure we don’t fill the squad with players we don’t feel are ready to make that step up to the first team.
Pompey boss: It’s exciting and challenging
‘That’s still the case (winger is a priority) especially as the middle of the park was an area we need to strengthen.
‘Going into the season with Marlon (Pack), Doz (Dozzell) and Terry (Devlin), who’s been more of a utility player, meant that was an area we wanted to improve.
‘Now we’re looking at three top players joining us there in Luke John and Mark, so we’ve moved away from the middle of the park now and certainly bolstering options wide is a priority.
‘That’s the way it is and it’s probably the way it’s always been - but certainly it’s been exacerbated in this window.
‘We’ve seen some of the high fees which have been paid across the board, it’s something we certainly have to be smart about with recruitment.’