'Shaun Williams trained yesterday and looked 25' - Why Danny Cowley has no concerns about workload on Portsmouth's only two midfielders

Of the Blues’ revamped 22-man squad, the former Millwall man and Ryan Tunnicliffe are the sole contenders for the centre of the park.

That puts added reliance on super-fit Williams, who turns 35 in October.

Cowley remains in the market to bolster that area of the pitch, with another central midfielder now a priority for Pompey’s head coach.

In the meantime, he continues to be impressed with his summer capture, who will be a first-team regular in the forthcoming League One campaign.

Cowley told The News: ‘Age is just a number, Shaun trained yesterday and looked 25. He was excellent in training, he’s a good footballer.

‘I’ve got a feeling he might want to play against Millwall as well on Tuesday!

‘He’s been really good for us, sucked up all the loads and not missed a day of training throughout pre-season.

‘Shaun’s a good player, a tactical player with a wonderful left foot. He’s tactically very, very bright, he’s the conductor for us, he’s the ice and the others are the fire.

‘Shaun’s going to be that calm, composed, intelligence which is going to then make the first pass and help our counter attacks progress.’

As Cowley awaits midfield reinforcements, he is forced to look at the suitability of others within his squad as potential stand-ins.

That includes one-time midfielder Callum Johnson, the versatile Hadj Mnoga and second-year scholar Harry Jewitt-White.

He added: ‘We’ve had this conversation quite a few times.

‘Callum has played there before, that’s a consideration. Kieron Freeman is a very good footballer, Connor Ogilvie is versatile, Haji has played in the eight (role) as well.

‘Gavin Bazunu is a very good footballer and could probably play there!

‘Harry (Jewitt-White) is just a baby. He’s a good player, a Welsh international, skilful, technical and came on in the Bournemouth under-21s game and did okay.

‘He trained with us yesterday, as did Izzy Kaba and Dan Gifford.

‘Michael Jacobs can also play inside, but it’s not ideal.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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