Portsmouth plan late move as League One rivals Bolton and Bristol Rovers eye striker

It could be a case of one-in and one-out for Portsmouth as the final days of a hectic summer transfer window arrive.

John Mousinho has already made 13 new signings during the close season and is expected to continue his work into the final days of the transfer window as a loan move for Chelsea youngster Tino Anjorin nears completion. There will be outgoings after Mousinho revealed he was ‘trying to find’ a move for former Sunderland left-back Denver Hume.

Although it is not expected to be the most hectic final week of the transfer window for Pompey, the same can not be said of some of their League One rivals as they scramble to complete a number of late deals. The News takes a look at some of the transfer rumours from around the third tier as Friday’s deadline draws ever closer.

Bolton and Bristol Rovers keen on Posh star

Bolton Wanderers are reportedly considering a move for a League One star as the future of Dion Charles remains open to question.

The five-times capped Northern Ireland international is said to be attracting strong interest from Championship club Stoke City after scoring 32 goals and providing five assists in 81 appearances for Wanderers. Ian Evatt is said to be planning for a possible departure by identifying Peterborough United striker Jonson Clarke-Harris as a possible replacement - although Bristol Rovers are also said to be keen.

Rovers manager Joey Barton opened up on the possibility of a move for the Posh star over the weekend after he said he would ‘be working in the background to make it happen’ if Clarke-Harris was made available.

He said: “At this level, I don’t want to talk about other people’s players, but those types of players are really valuable to a team that wants to get out of the division. The difficulty lies in the valuation. Look, we’re not Manchester City or Newcastle, but we’re always looking to add quality players.

“From what I hear, Jonno wants to come back in this direction due to his family and stuff like that. If there is a possibility to bring a player of that calibre to this club, we’d definitely be working in the background to make that happen.”

League One boss lined up for Hibs role

Sunday afternoon brought confirmation Lee Johnson had left his role as manager of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian - and a current League One boss is reportedly being lined up as his replacement.

Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke have claimed Stevenage manager Steve Evans is ‘in the frame’ to take charge at Easter Road after spending the last 16 months with the League One club. Evans was in the headlines over the weekend after he accused a Portsmouth star of disrespecting one of his own players during a 1-1 draw between the two sides on Saturday and also invoked the anger of Pompey boss John Mousinho with his conduct on the touchline during the game.

Carlisle manager opens up on striker search

Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson has revealed his bid to add a striker to his squad is ongoing.

The Cumbrians are without a win since securing promotion into League One last season and currently sit in the relegation zone after losing three of their opening five games of the campaign. Crucially, they have also failed to score in three of those games and that has left Simpson to push on with a search for new firepower.

He told the News and Star: “That’s what the deadline’s for, to do that, so we’ll wait and see what happens. I don’t like doing things last minute, and we have done a lot of groundwork on quite a number of players. But I can’t honestly stand here and say yes there’s one about to drop. We’re just going to have to keep banging away.”