Everything John Mousinho has said about Portsmouth transfers, Rob Atkinson, Josh Murphy and more as summer window opens
That summer window gets underway today and we’ve taken a look at everything Pompey boss John Mousinho has said in the build-up - including transfers, player futures, markets and more.
John Mousinho on how many Pompey signings
‘There won’t necessarily be 14 new players this summer. We will try to cut that down because we have more contracted players this year and obviously still have gaps in the squad to fill.
‘I certainly don’t think it’s going to be one or two, it will be more than that. What we need to do as a football club is stabilise year-on-year. So, for example - and please don’t hold me to this - if we do eight in the summer, that’s great. If there's more in January, fine.
‘Then summer next year, hopefully we can be a bit more stable, do four or five, and get into the realms where we are very, very happy with the squad.
‘At that point you want to keep the contracted players we want, maybe not relying so much on loans, and then it might be just 2-3 in every transfer window.
We are very, very far away from that at the moment and I think everyone understands that - and we understand that perfectly at the football club.
‘We’ve got the foundations now. Whether we are now a solid Championship team or not, we have scrapped and scraped to get where we are, so the players have earned it, definitely.
‘But there are a huge amount of improvements to make, that’s the most important thing. We still look back at the season and can’t get carried away with what we’ve achieved because of the many moments we’ve had where we simply weren’t good enough.’
John Mousinho on a potential loan for Thomas Waddingham
‘We’re really excited about Tom and have brought him into the football club more as a long-term project, knowing he could probably impact things this year.
‘He very quickly put himself above a couple of the other centre-forwards we have in the building, which is a real compliment to Tom.
‘That (going up the pecking order) wasn’t because we have him for next season, but because we think he is more than good enough.
‘He needs to keep going with that, he’s got some real stiff competition to get into the side with Colby here.
‘There’s no rush with Tom, though, which is the most important thing. We’ve got to make sure he comes back in pre-season fit and he goes again next season.
‘There’s no intention of letting Tom going anywhere.’
John Mousinho on Marlon Pack’s future
I absolutely love Marlon and he’s a huge part of the football club going forward.
He is a very, very important part of my plans at the club in terms of what he brings to us. Whether it’s on the pitch or off the pitch, he’s hugely important to that.
The most impressive thing I can say about Marlon is his behaviour did not change an inch from when he was in the side to when he was out of the side, which made it incredibly seamless for me.
‘I knew Marlon was wanting to play, so he didn't have to kick up a fuss about it. It was never easy leaving him out, but the way he conducted was superb, especially having played so many games the previous season and lifting the League One trophy.
‘This year he had to play out of position for the football club in a new league with some very, very athletic, brilliant centre-forwards and to do such a good job - at such a pivotal part of the season - we are incredibly grateful for that.
Plus everything that Marlon did off the pitch as well. He’s an outstanding leader and an outstanding captain.’
John Mousinho on re-signing Freddie Potts
Freddie massively deserved the ovation. With Freddie, in particular, it’s one where he’s been here all season and done such a good job.
‘It’s most likely we won’t see him again next season, unfortunately, so it was a really good moment.
‘I suspect he’s going to go back and challenge at West Ham so if we do (see him again) then great, if we do it’s a bonus.
But that would be my expectation for Fred next year and, if not, then we will certainly be knocking at the door and first in the queue.’
John Mousinho on looking for Premier League 2 talent
‘If you look at what we did last year with Abu and Robbo coming from PL2 and the under-21s.
‘We took loans from there and this year we’ve taken Kaide on loan, Mark on loan and signed Harvey as a permanent. Those players at times, in theory and a lot of time in practice, are the best players coming through from Cat 1 academies at the very top.
‘Not all of them are going to get a chance for their Premier League first teams, so it’s a really good opportunity for us a lot of time.
John Mousinho on Christian Saydee’s future
‘Christian’s had a pretty good season, to be honest.
‘He played more games than he did in League One and he scored the same amount of goals that he did in League One. So he’s stepped up, scored some important goals and made some important contributions.
‘Towards the end of the season when he came back from injury we used him in games, and he’s had a massive impact off the bench. That’s been important for us in some huge games.
‘Chris is one where we love having him around and I think he’s had a brilliant Portsmouth career so far. There’s a bit of that cult hero about him for various reasons.
‘There’s probably a balance there with Chris, where he might get an opportunity to get more minutes elsewhere. We’re not pushing him out of the door at all, but if he has an opportunity I think it would probably be reasonable for us to consider it with Chris.’
John Mousinho on Rob Atkinson
‘People know what I think of Rob, hence why we tried so hard to get him back for the past four games.
‘I think there’s a lot of moving parts to that because Bristol City are in the play-off places, but we have a very good relationship with the football club, with (technical director) Brian (Tinnion), Liam (Manning) and the staff there.
‘So that’s something that will naturally evolve from Bristol City’s standpoint over the summer. We’d like to think we’d hopefully be at the front of the queue.
‘There’s almost part of me that wants Rob to go back and play for Bristol City, because he deserves it. There’s also part of me that hopes they decide, like they did in January, that he’s a player that might be able to come here.
‘I think, whatever happens with Rob, I hope he plays next year and he does really well - hopefully that’s for us.’
John Mousinho on scouring European markets
‘We’ve seen the amount of foreign players in the Championship. Whether you like it or not, we’ve seen it’s a good market to explore. You have to get it right, though.
‘We’re looking everywhere and you have to look everywhere for players. If you look at our opponents last weekend, they’ve had a lot of success from bringing players in from overseas recently who are really affecting the team.
‘So I think we definitely need to do the same and at least have an eye on it. If it’s not an option then absolutely fine.’
John Mousinho on Ryley Towler’s Pompey future
‘We’ll see what happens with Ryley in the summer.
‘With Ryley, he’s had a very impactful season which is a positive for him. He started 10 Championship games and some of those he’s been excellent in and made a big contribution.
‘The year before I think he started three League One game, so he’s stepped up and shown he’s more than capable. We love having him around the place, he’s a great kid and good footballer.
‘Unfortunately he’s found himself behind other centre-halves and we have that number of centre-backs contracted for next year. If the conversation comes up in the summer for Ryley (interest), we’ll see what’s best for him and the football club.’
John Mousinho on attacking reinforcements
‘We need to strengthen across the board there. We’ve lost Adil who’s gone back from his loan and Kaide as well.
‘So that is going to open up a bit of space across the front line, so there’s some scope there.’
John Mousinho on making ‘cut-throat calls’
‘It’s a hard one, you want to keep the emotional part of it because it’s important for the football club.
‘We’re fully aware of that, but sentiment doesn’t get you particularly far when you’re trying to win football games - we have to be really wary of that.
‘We made some tough decisions this time last year, with players who’d had really important contributions to the League One title-winning side.
‘This season we had some really big decisions to make with the likes of Will Norris leaving in January. He’s a player who played every single minute of the League One title campaign.
‘It’s tough and they are tough decisions to make, you just have to weigh them up and make sure you make the right decisions for the football club.’
John Mousinho on a loan for Harvey Blair
‘I see it as a future here for Harvey. My challenge to Harvey is to come back in the summer and have a full pre-season with us, which he didn’t have last year, and be at it in terms of his fitness.
‘In terms of his development, I want him to treat this year almost like it was his first loan. I know he’s a permanent, but he’s one of those players who’s come out of the 21s, had his first taste of league football, his first taste of living away from Liverpool and any home comforts he was used to.
‘He’s really needed to adjust to life down here and training here every day. The PL2 fixture list is very different from the Championship fixture list and the demands of the league is very different. We’ve seen that with first loans relentlessly.
‘So it’s almost that’s your first loan and we’re getting you back for your second loan next season, but thankfully we’ve got him as a permanent player - I’m expecting big things from Harvey.’
John Mousinho on keeping ‘prized asset’ Josh Murphy
‘We’re hopeful that there won’t be any interest in our players, but who knows what will happen in that sphere? We’ve got players who’ve been excellent this season and it’s naturally a compliment to players and the football club if there’s external interest.
‘We’ll just have to handle it on a case-by-case interest if any interest does come.
‘Certainly from the conversations I’ve had with Josh he’s happy here and wants a successful year here next year.
‘He’s thrived and had the best year of his career. He’s been superb and I think he’s playing the best football of his career.
‘He’s been outstanding athletically ever since he came back from the injury at Charlton, which was a contact injury, he’s completely changed the way he looks after himself, his routines and the way he lives his life.
‘Josh lives down here in Portsmouth with his partner and child - and they love it down here.
‘Everything has come together for him really well and he knows there’s more to come, not just from him but the team as well.
‘Josh really needs to drive that, and he needs to make sure that he continues to lift the team and really pushes us to the next level again next season.’