Portsmouth transfer news: The key developments at Spurs, Leicester, Accrington and West Brom that will give Blues fans hope of further new signings

Marlon Pack and Zak Swanson remain the only new additions so far, with the start of the 2022-23 League One season now less than three weeks away.

The patient Fratton faithful were given hope of a ramping up of the current situation after the Blues’ pre-season friendly win against Qatar SC on Saturday.

Boss Danny Cowley admitted there could be more than one new arrival at Fratton Park ‘early’ next week, with the Blues currently working on a deal for former Preston defender Joe Rafferty.

But with Pompey’s senior striking department currently having a membership of zero, that’s an area of the pitch where transfer action is most urgently needed.

So far the Blues have been linked with 17 strikers without any reward.

Could that be about to change, though, given developments elsewhere as club’s stepped up their preparations for the new season on Saturday?

For starters, newly-linked Accrington striker Colby Bishop was nowhere to be seen as Accrington played a double-header against Blackburn.

Stanley boss John Coleman named two different sides for both 60-minute games against their Lancashire rivals, who gave a run out to Hayden Carter.

Yet Bishop, who is also interesting MK Dons, was not involved in either match, fuelling speculation about his future.

The 25-year-old, who is not reported to be injured, was also absent when Accy took on Crystal Palace in their pre-season opener against Crystal Palace last weekend.

Now attention will turn to Wednesday night when Stoke City arrive at the Wham Stadium.

There was also a noticeable absentee when Leicester began their Premier League warm-up games against Notts County.

Again, the fixture was split in two, with Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers naming different starting XIs for each half.

But not included was George Hirst, despite his involvement with the first-team squad since their return to training.

Instead, Patson Dake and Kelechi Iheanacho occupied the main striking roles in the absence of Jamie Vardy and Ayoze Perez.

Meanwhile, Blues-linked Callum Wright also featured.

Pompey have made no secret of their desire to see Hirst return to Fratton Park following a successful loan spell last season.

Cowley, this week, urged the club to ‘move heaven and earth’ to get him back.

Yet, with Ipswich already having a bid turned down for the 23-year-old, there’s competition for his services if Leicester decide to grant a move.

The Foxes travel to Lake Geneva this week as part of their pre-season plans.

We wait to see if Hirst will make the trip.

Talking of trips abroad, Kion Etete was not named in the Spurs travelling party that jetted out to South Korea on Saturday.

Like Hirst, he’s been involved with the first team as preparations are made for the start of the new season.

Yet the 20-year-old was not included in manager Antonio Conte’s 28-man squad for a tour that will see them take on Team K League on Wednesday and Sevilla on Saturday.

Fellow youngster Troy Parrott did make the trip, suggesting he’s higher up the pecking order than Etete.

And with Cowley mindful that such decisions can have a knock-on effect in terms of the transfer window, he could now be given the green light to follow up his interest in the front man.

The same principle applies to Josh Griffiths’ situation at West Brom.

He’s another highly-rated youngster on Pompey’s radar – and someone Cowley is expected to sign.

Baggies boss Steve Bruce has been bigging up the 20-year-old in recent weeks, though.

Yet he used keepers David Button and Alex Palmer in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Stevenage.