John Mousinho has highlighted which position he would like Portsmouth‘s recruitment team to focus on as the January transfer window looms.
Pompey have had a mixed start to their second season back in the Championship, and face the prospect of a relegation battle with the Fratton Park side just one point above Oxford United in the bottom three.
Position Highlighted Amid Injury Issues
A feature of their season so far has been a rotation of different left-backs, particularly in the past month with the injury to Connor Ogilvie, who has had knee ligament issues since November, and is not expected back until the end of the winter transfer window.
Both Zak Swanson and Jordan Williams have deputised in the position since, with the former getting the nod from Mousinho last time out in their win over Blackburn Rovers. However, their futures in the position are much less certain following the Portsmouth manager’s comments to the News, in which he revealed that left-back was a priority position to recruit in the new year.
“It will probably be the back end of January for Connor. It might be a position we look at, we’ll see how Connor returns, but I think we’d be a bit naive if we weren’t looking for a left-back.
“The whole point of us trying to build a squad is to have those two players in every position and, at the minute, we don’t have any in that left-back slot.
“While we don’t want to be oversubscribed if Connor comes back and depending how Jacob [Farrell] is, but we just have to be more cautious this January than anything else, particularly considering our league position.
“I don’t think we are necessarily going to have that luxury of seeing how Connor is when he comes back before deciding whether we need another left-back, unless he comes back quicker.”
What Options Are Available?
With the transfer window around the corner, Pompey will likely have a list of targets ready to move for once the market opens on New Year’s Day. There isn’t much available to them on the free agent market, with former Wigan Athletic man Tom Pearce the biggest name with previous EFL experience.
As they have done many times, Pompey could delve into the Premier League market. Perhaps putting a challenge in for Hull City’s interest in Bashir Humphreys could be a great solution to their issues, with the 22-year-old losing his starting position at Burnley.
Nevertheless, Portsmouth may not even feel the need to sign a new player in the window, with Zak Swanson’s performances earning great plaudits from his manager in addition to the return of Jacob Farrell expected before the end of the month.
