Unfortunately for eight of them, that involves being handed free transfers rather than staying at the club they represented in the 2022-23 season.
Here, Blues sporting director Rich Hughes explains each decision behind the exits of Michael Jacobs, Jayden Reid, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Louis Thompson, Clark Robertson, Kieron Freeman, Alfie Bridgman an Dan Gifford.
9. Dan Gifford
‘They’ve had good loans at Bognor this year, while Alfie’s had some international recognition with Malta under-18s. ‘However, we felt they were going to be a bit of a distance away from affecting the Pompey first team in the next 2-3 years and it was the best thing for their careers to go and achieve success at varying levels. ‘They won’t be short of options, whether that will be an under-21 set-up or a National League team. They'll have to go and play and be successful. ‘They have trained really well here and done well at Bognor, but we didn’t feel there was a natural progression which affected the first-team. Now both will be leaving the football club.’ - Rich Hughes Photo: Simon Davies