The six possible solutions for Portsmouth boss John Mousinho's crisis position
The choices John Mousinho faces to cope with no fit left-backs in his first-team squad.
Pompey are preparing for the resumption of the Championship fixture list with the visit of Millwall on Saturday, yet without any available left-back.
After the 3-2 defeat at Hull, John Mousinho revealed Connor Ogilvie could be out for up to three months with knee ligament damage. Taking that timeframe into consideration, the former Gillingham man may not be available until around January 8.
The head coach also stressed it ‘would be wise’ to bring in a replacement, either as a free agent or when the transfer window reopens on January 1.
On the issue of Farrell's ongoing groin problem, speaking on November 3, Mousinho told The News: ‘Jacob has been in and out of training and last week had to dip out, it’s just not settling down and that’s something we’re not sure of a timescale on.
‘He’s not training with us at the moment, we are just waiting for that to settle. It’s a really frustrating one, there have been a couple of squads this year that Jacob hasn’t made as a selection, but recently it would have been very useful to have him.’
Here are John Mousinho’s six options over a position which is presently his biggest selection headache…
1) Transfer
The transfer window reopens on Thursday, January 1 and closes at 7pm on Monday, February 2.
Pompey are unable to buy or loan any players until that time, yet they can bring in free agents at present, should they wish.
2) Loan
Pompey are unable to bring in any loans until the transfer window reopens on Thursday, January 1.
There are presently two vacant loan slots, with Florian Bianchini, Minhyeok Yang and Conor Chaplin the three players on season-long arrangements.
As Pompey showed in the second half of last season, however, more than five loans can be registered - although a maximum of five are allowed in the 20-man match-day squad.
John Mousinho had six during that period: Freddie Potts, Mark O’Mahony, Rob Atkinson, Isaac Hayden, Adil Aouchiche and Kaide Gordon.
3) Free Agents
As a consequence, they can potentially register a free agent immediately, who is then able to feature in competitive action.
The registered can then be reappraised and changed when the transfer window opens, until it closes again on Monday, February 2. By which time a new squad must be submitted in the following week.
4) Academy Options
Martin recently returned from a Moneyfields loan spell, where he made eight appearances for the high-flying Isthmian South Central Division side and impressed hugely.
The 17-year-old, who was once on West Ham’s books, also spent time on loan at Chichester at the start of the campaign, featuring three times.
Mullins, who hails from Waterlooville, joined Baffins on dual-registration terms at the end of September and subsequently featured in their Wessex League Premier Division campaign.
5) Ibane Bowat
It was an abject display from the Blues team as a collective and Bowat, in particular, struggled with a tough task to shackle Patrick Roberts.
According to Wyscout, during loan spells at Austrian side Hartberg and Dutch club Den Bosch, just three of his 48 starts were at left-back, with the left-sided centre-half his usual role.
Indeed, since his Birmingham outing, he has played on the left of a back three at Pompey and looked more comfortable there. Incidentally, Bowat made his Scotland Under-21 debut at left-back against Iceland in November 2022.
6) Jordan Williams
Williams may be a right-back or central defender, yet he does have a fair bit of experience of playing on the left-hand side of defence at Barnsley.
During 201 appearances for the Tykes, according to Wyscout there were periods when he operated at left-back or as a left wing-back, including a five-game spell in February 2020.
In fact, from July-October 2020, for 14 successive outings he was either left-back, left wing-back or a left-sided centre-half - despite being right footed.
In addition, from February-May 2021, nine of his 10 appearances were as a left wing-back, demonstrating his versatility.
More recently, during his maiden Pompey season, he appeared as a substitute at left-back against West Brom (January) and Blackburn (March). While he started there in January’s FA Cup defeat at Wycombe.
Then, with Mousinho switching to a 3-4-3 system, Williams came on for Ogilvie at left wing-back against Wrexham and then started there in the 3-2 defeat at Hull before the international window.