Opinion: Value for money key to Portsmouth recruitment as Danny Cowley makes West Ham transfer comparison

And with the head coach himself comparing the Blues’ League One pulling power in the current window to that of West Ham in the Premier League, value for money should be the most important factor in deciding when to swoop – not a date in the calendar.

It’s a view which has been shared by one of The News’ Pompey writers, Will Rooney.

Speaking in the latest episode of Pompey Talk: The Podcast, the reporter was asked about the levels of frustration being shown by fans on social media.

Supporters have been underwhelmed by the Blues’ business so far – business that has seen players like Craig MacGillivray, Jack Whatmough, Tom Naylor, Ben Close and Ryan Williams all leave and only Bromley youngster Liam Vincent arrive.

Rooney said he understood where fans were coming from, given the massive squad overhaul Cowley initiated following the season’s end.

But with Pompey not able to compete with the likes of big-spending Ipswich, Wigan, he said Cowley’s patient approach had to be respected, with greater value for money likely to be found the longer the window stayed open.

Speaking on Pompey Talk, Rooney said: ‘I think you can understand the angst because everyone knows how big a summer this is.

‘We've known for a while there's going to be a real overhaul and I think a lot of people thought it would begin in earnest fairly soon.

‘It hasn't been the case, though, with more than three weeks passing since the retained list came out.

‘The retained list came out and we thought these new signings would start arriving.

‘Unfortunately, it's just Liam Vincent so far, who hasn't whet the appetite for obvious reasons – even though he looks a decent prospect for the future.

’So you can understand it, but we've been in a period when players have been on holiday, they've been speaking to clubs, negotiating.

‘Danny Cowley spoke about it earlier last week, saying, as a West Ham fan, Pompey were akin to West Ham, and he knew what it's like (when it comes to signings).

‘It implies that Pompey, maybe, are a couple of steps behind in the pecking order. Maybe behind the likes of Ipswich and a couple of other clubs, and they're just biding their time for the right players.

‘The don’t want to spend too much, they want value, and Danny seems to think that the value in the market comes later in the window, so he is prepared to wait.

‘That makes sense.

‘You don't want to go out and get a centre-back or a central-midfielder for the sake of it, if you know you can get one later in the window.

‘It's about bidding your time.

‘For example, Joe Morrell is one player we know about,

‘Why would you go out and buy a central midfielder when you could potentially go get Joe Morrell after the Euros is done.

‘I can understand the angst and the frustration but we've just got to bear in mind that it's the middle of June, so two months until the season starts - there's a lot of time yet.’