‘We already know’: Portsmouth chief answers critical question over January transfer reinforcements

Pompey are eyeing further January additions to bolster their Championship charge.

And chief executive Andy Cullen has confirmed the Blues will look at splashing out further transfer fees for the right players in the winter window.

But Cullen highlighted the balance already in John Mousinho’s squad, after starting the League One campaign at a pace.

The Blues chief also stressed there needs to be a fluid attitude to recruitment in the new year, with a number of factors still conceivably coming into play.

When asked if there’s a budget to strengthen the squad in January, Cullen told Pompey’s YouTube channel: ‘There’s always ways we want to improve and add to what we’ve got. It’s something the recruitment team have been working on non stop.

‘The transfer window may shut but the recruitment never stops, we had five scouts out on Tuesday at games.

‘We probably need to give it context as well.

‘We talked about the strategy we’re trying to deliver for this new season - we wanted to bring more energy in and a younger dynamic to the team as well.

‘We weren’t afraid to invest in transfer fees for that younger talent. I think people can see we did that in January with Paddy Lane and Ryley Towler, going through into the summer and investing in young talent like Terry Devlin, Kusini Yengi and Christian Saydee.

‘So we’re looking at that, but we’ve got a really good balance through the team at the moment. In every position you can see competition from right-back, left-back, centre-halves, midfield and Colby having good support and back-up with Chris and Kusini as well.

‘But you never know what could happen over the next few weeks, there could be injuries or different things which could happen. We already know the positions we want to structure.’

Cullen stressed the important of Pompey maintaining a focus on recruiting young talent who can be improved and boost their resale value, as they move away from a reliance on loan players.

He added: ‘I think it’s important to recognise we don’t want our recruitment to be short term. It has to be for the future and looking, as we have over the summer and last January window, reducing the reliance on loans.

‘It has to increase the pool of young talent we have available in the squad, adding to the experience we have and getting the balance right is hugely important to us.

‘So that will very much guide us in the way we tackle January, but we want to look at every way we can to improve and strengthen the squad - January represents that opportunity as well.’