The EFL squad-list rules Portsmouth must abide by following transfer window that produced 15 new signings - putting five players' seasons at risk

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Pompey have to comply with strict EFL-imposed Championship squad rules now that the summer transfer window has closed.

And time is ticking for them to let the division’s governing body know their intentions for the period up until the January transfer window following the passing of Friday night’s 11pm signings deadline.

The Blues enjoyed a productive summer, with sporting director Rich Hughes bringing in 15 new players (including teenage Reuben Swann) and releasing three - Jack Sparkes, Anthony Scully and Gavin Whyte - as he put together a squad for the club’s first Championship season since 2012.

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And just like the Premier League, second-tier outfits are limited to naming just 25 players. In League’s One and Two, clubs are only permitted to name 22 ‘senior’ players.

As it stands, the Blues have 31 first-team players on their books - 32 if you include teenager Harry Clout, who was named on the bench for recent games against Luton and Middlesbrough. Swann is currently on loan at the Hawks.

Eight of the 25 must be home-grown - a player, regardless of nationality, who has been registered with any club associated with the English or Welsh FA for at least three years prior to turning 21.

From the current squad, Will Norris, Jordan Archer, Ibane Bowat, Jordan Williams, Conor Ogilvie, Ryley Towler, Regan Poole, Tom McIntyre, Zak Swanson, Marlon Pack, Ben Stevenson, Owen Moxon, Andre Dozzell, Josh Murphy, Matt Ritchie, Paddy Lane, Callum Lang, Colby Bishop, Christian Saydee, Tom Lowery and Harvey Blair all fall into this category.

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Any player aged 21 or under doesn’t have to be included in the 25-man squad - which includes Terry Devlin, Abdoulaye Kamara, Blair and Clout. 

A player is deemed to be an ‘under-21’ if they are under the age of 21 as of January 1 of the year in which the season starts. For the 2024/25 campaign, this is someone born on or after January 1, 2003. Twenty-one-year-old Australian Jacob Farrell does not qualify having been born on November 19, 2002.

However, any loan player – irrespective of age – must be included. That means Sammy Silvera, Mark O’Mahony and Freddie Potts have to be named in the 25-man squad, despite the latter two being 19 and 20 respectively.

All three goalkeepers - Will Norris, Nicolas Schmid and Jordan Archer - must be registered, if Pompey plan to use them in the league.

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Meanwhile, at least one club-developed player must be named, with both Marlon Pack and Matt Ritchie eligible in this category, despite playing the majority of their careers away from Fratton Park after coming through the Blues’ youth system. 

Pompey currently have 28 ‘senior’ players as things stand, including Kusini Yengi, which is three more than EFL squad rules permits.

That will likely see both Stevenson and Lowery omitted from the 25 players registered with the EFL - with Stevenson already featuring for the Blues in the Championship this season, albeit as an 84th-minute substitute against Luton.

The question is who joins them in missing out? Do Pompey register just two keepers, with Schmid getting the nod over Archer for Saturday’s visit of Sunderland?

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Does the deadline day arrival of Bowat give them the breathing space to allow Poole the chance to fully recover from the ACL injury he picked up last November without taking any risks?

Alternatively, do they omit Bishop following his recent heart surgery, with no timeframe currently in place on his return?

No player registered is able to play until January at the earliest. According to Mousinho, the Blues have ‘a couple of weeks’ to make their decision.

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