LATEST: Portsmouth boss reveals former Arsenal man's contract position as deal nears close

But Blues boss John Mousinho insisted he’s happy to continue with three right-back options moving forward, as he lauded the former Arsenal man’s Championship success this term.

Swanson is one of eight players who see their deals come to a close at the end of this season, though there is a 12-month club option on the year’s agreement he signed last July.

The 24-year-old found himself in a similar situation last summer, though Pompey decided not to take up his option before later reaching an agreement with the defender.

News of new contracts for both Colby Bishop and Terry Devlin was confirmed last week, with both sealing agreements until the summer of 2028.

Mousinho made it clear that, from his point of view, he’s happy to wait for developments over Swanson but he is pleased with the player’s form. And, moving forward, he’s satisfied having three right-back options with Swanson, Jordan Williams and a versatile consideration in Devlin.

When asked about Swanson’s contract, Mousinho said: ‘There’s no rush on any of that.

‘I think Zak has done quite well this year and started quite a high number of games.

‘That’s just one, genuinely from my point of view, I have no interest in delving into at the moment. That’s because Zak’s doing well and has his place in the team - I just think that’s a conversation for the summer.

‘I think, in all honesty, we’d look at Zak and Jordan as the two right-backs. I’m not saying Terry can’t compete there, but we’d consider him more of a utility player.

‘So we’re pretty happy with the three of them in the building, and wouldn’t necessarily look to alter the numbers there. At the moment, we’re pretty comfortable with that.’

Arsenal graduate’s ‘surpassed expectations’

Swanson will be aiming for another appearance against Leeds, after nailing down the right-back berth with eight starts on the spin. That takes his total for the season to 27 outings - a return which has impressed his manager.

Mousinho added: ‘Zak had a good start to the season.

‘He didn’t initially start the first couple of games, but then came into it and kept his place probably right up until Stoke.

‘Then Jordan came in and it was probably a mixture of Zak and Terry after that.

‘Zak has started the last six or seven games for us and made a real contribution. He’s done really well with the pair of them dovetailing in most games really well.

If you’d said Zak would start 20-plus Championship games by March and had the contribution he’s had, I don’t think many would’ve said that - so I think he’s surpassed expectations.’

YOUR NEXT POMPEY READ: Why I’m still not sure if Portsmouth title winner’s speaking to me 22 years on from run-in.