Out of the seven who arrived at Fratton Park last season, perhaps only Miguel Azeez, Gassan Ahadme and Tyler Walker didn’t live up to expectations.
However, Gavin Bazunu, Hayden Carter and George Hirst left a lasting impression in royal blue, while Mahlon Romeo’s form dipped after an electric start to life on the south coast.
As a result, Danny Cowley will be searching for replacements for those who are set to return to their parent club.
He hasn’t given up hope on bringing the Blackburn and Leicester figures back to the club – but if his pursuit returns empty who could he look to sign?
Here’s who had similar seasons to the Blues’ loan contingent using WhoScored.com’s stats.
1. James Trafford - Manchester City
The 19-year-old is the next goalkeeper coming from Manchester City's conveyer belt. Trafford made 33 League One appearance while on loan with Accrington and Bolton last season and could benefit from another season in the third tier. He kept nine clean sheets across his two temporary spells last term. Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty Images Photo: Gareth Copley
2. Josh Griffiths - West Bromwich Albion
Griffiths spent last season on loan with Lincoln, and made 50 appearances in all competitions. The 20-year-old is also handy with his feet and boasts a higher pass success rate than Bazunu with 69.2 percent to 60 percent - which makes him perfect for Cowley's system. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images Photo: George Wood
3. Lewie Coyle - Hull (Right-back)
Coyle played a bit-part role played a bit-part role in the Championship last term, and could return to League One football. The 26-year-old is the same age as Romeo and recorded the same average tackles per league game to that of the Millwall loanee of 1.7. Picture: Joe Portlock/Getty Images Photo: Joe Portlock
4. Dujon Sterling - Chelsea (Right-back)
The Chelsea academy graduate could complete another loan away from Stamford Bridge as he did with Blackpool last season. The 22-year-old made 24 league appearances for the Tangerines while registering 1.6 average tackles per game. The Blues are likely to trust Cowley with another starlet after his work with Trevor Chalobah at Huddersfield in 2019-20. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images Photo: George Wood