‘We’ll push on from there’: Portsmouth boss makes exciting summer transfer spending promise
John Mousinho believes multimillion pound transfer fees are set to be available to strengthen his squad this summer.
But the Pompey boss admitted loosening the purse strings for new additions is dependent on his club retaining their Championship status.
Mousinho’s statement comes in the wake of the Blues bringing in defender Hayden Matthews in January for a reported £1.27m fee, the most the club has shelled out for 14 years.
The head coach acknowledged Pompey will still have their place in the Championship hierarchy when it comes to spending power, saying deals like the £4.5m Hull paid for Abu Kamara last summer are beyond their reach.
But Mousinho sees no reasons the level can’t be raised for the right new additions in the second tier.
He said: ‘Since I came to the club, fees have always been a conversation around bringing the right players to the board.
‘We will then discuss the fee - and every time the answer has been yes. If it’s the right player at the right cost we’ve been able to do it. That’s the way that it was sold to me since I came to the club - and that’s the way it’s been.
‘Without getting into the real detail of it, if Abu Kamara is going to cost £4.5m we are not there yet - we are not in that market. We’re just not there and whether that’s value for money, I don’t know.
‘But we are in the market now for a Hayden Matthews, and we’ll push on from there and see what the summer’s like.’
Mousinho is open about raising the bar for spending being dependent on Pompey’s Championship status being secure, with the second tier opening the door to much greater income than League One.
£935m Sky TV deal boosts Championship spending power
That’s chiefly as a result of the £935m Sky TV deal which came into play last summer, which is heavily weighted towards teams at the top of the EFL.
Mousinho added: ‘That’s the key, the spending power of the football club becomes a lot bigger if we remain in the Championship.
‘We give ourselves half a chance if we remain in the Championship, the financial difference is big between the two leagues. Hence we went out and did what we did in January to try to bridge the gap.
‘It makes a difference, a massive difference, hence why we were all guns blazing to try and do that (improve the squad). What we wanted to do is say we’ve adjusted to the level. Here is the level, here’s what other sides are spending and here’s what we have to do to get players in, who affect the first team pretty quickly.
‘We had to spend more than we did last year and more than we’re used to. It’s just about that period of adjustment, I think we are moving in the right direction.’