New Portsmouth signings watch on as Blues impress in 4-0 pre-season win at Reading

New Pompey duo Mark Kosznovszky and Luke Le Roux failed to make it onto the pitch for the Blues’ latest pre-season friendly.

However, the midfield pairing were present at Reading’s Select Car Leasing Stadium as they got to experience a Pompey match day for the very first time.

And they will have left the ground mightily impressed after John Mousinho’s side secured an impressive 4-0 away win over their League One hosts.

Both players were presented as the club’s latest transfer window signings on Friday.

Kosznovszky’s much-anticipated move from Hungarian top-flight side MTK Budapest was confirmed at 4pm, with the 23-year-old midfielder penning a three-year deal after a fee in the region of £1m was agreed with his now former club.

The Blues then handed the Fratton faithful a pleasant surprise by unveiling Le Roux’s arrival around 8pm. A deal that had largely gone under the radar, the South Africa international midfielder arrived from Swedish side IFK Varnamo for an undisclosed fee, with a three-year-deal also agreed.

Welcome additions to Pompey’s midfield

Both players will help reinforce a Pompey central midfield that lost the services of loan duo Freddie Potts and Isaac Hayden at the end of last season - and comprised of Marlon Pack, Andre Dozzell and Terry Devlin at the start of the week.

Pack and Dozzell started the Blues’ latest friendly in the middle of the park, with Devlin and full-back and makeshift midfielder Zak Swanson replacing them in the second half.

The game provided all four and the rest of the Pompey first-team squad another opportunity to enhance their match fitness and sharpness ahead of the season-opener against Oxford United on August 9.

It will also have given Pack & Co the opportunity to stamp their presence in the team again and show just how competitive the battle for midfield places in Mousinho’s side will be next season - with the new arrivals looking on intently as Pompey dominated their third-tier opponents.

With that opener against the U’s just two weeks away now, Kosznovszky and La Roux haven’t got long to adapt to the rigours of the English game and the expectations that comes with a move to Fratton Park.

Pompey have a midweek trip to the Hawks, plus next Saturday’s home friendly against Dutch side PEC Zwolle, to get them up to speed.

Today’s visit to Reading will no doubt have served a purpose, though, even if it was just a watching brief and an opportunity to familarise themselves with their new team-mates.

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