Kenny Jackett: We won’t allow transfer uncertainty over Portsmouth stars Matt Clarke and Jamal Lowe to drag

Ever the pragmatist, the Blues boss is aware Matt Clarke and Jamal Lowe will attract interest during the close season.

With both under contract until the summer of 2020, Jackett believes the club retain a strong position.

However, he has no intention of allowing transfer scenarios to drag, thereby disrupting Pompey’s own plans.

And Jackett has called for prospective bids to be tabled sooner rather than later.

He said: ‘There’s a lot of speculation on those players, but they are contracted.

‘With Nathan (Thompson), it’s not a situation we can necessarily control – but with the others we are in control because they are contracted.

‘The best thing is to just let the dust settle and then see if we get any bids.

‘I wouldn’t put a timescale on it, we would put a reasonable amount of time on it and see if the phone rings for bids. Then we will react on that.

‘If there’s anything, we would want it sorted out sooner rather than later, but I can’t speak for other people, it’s up to them, not up to us.

‘We are not necessarily inviting bids, we feel we are the ones in the strong position.

‘At the moment, we will give it a reasonable amount of time and see the type of interest and whether all of the speculation actually turns in concrete offers.

‘The aim is to get your squad settled for the first day of pre-season, but things don’t always work that way because it’s up to other people.

‘It does get more difficult to then recruit, though. Once you start pre-season training and get a week or two out of the way, prices for replacements go up.’