'It's the right time': Portsmouth boss addresses Fratton Park future of former Liverpool man
The former Liverpool man has been left out of the Blues’ Football League squad after 29 games in two seasons
John Mousinho admits it’s ‘the right time’ for Harvey Blair to leave Fratton Park.
But, crucially, the Blues need to secure a destination, with options becoming increasingly limited as more transfer windows across the world shut.
Blair had attracted late interest from Widzew Lodz, although, with the Polish league’s window closing at midnight, it’s not yet clear whether a deal could be completed in time.
Certainly Pompey are keen to find a taker for the 22-year-old, who is in the final 12 months of the contract he signed in August 2024.
Ominously, the former Liverpool man was this week also left out of the Blues’ Football League squad, despite having three spots available after 22 players were registered.
And Mousinho is hoping to offload Blair, whose Fratton Park impact has been hampered by repeated injury problems.
‘There’s still a bit of interest’
The head coach told The News: ‘At the moment there’s potential for Harvey to be registered in our squad. There is potential that we still need to try to move him on as well, depending on what is out there for him.
‘There’s still a bit of interest. It’s not something I have particularly been focused on, it’s more of a question for the executive team here, but there’s a fair bit of interest.
‘It could be the right time for him to move, we’ll see what there is. There is no issue if Harvey is still with us, but it’s a conversation we’d been having since the summer.’
Brooke-Smith injury blow
While Josh Murphy, Keshi Anderson and Connor Ogilvie were left out of Pompey’s 25-man squad through injury, Mousinho has confirmed that Blair is fit.
Having been included on the bench at Bristol City and against Derby, the winger was omitted from last weekend’s 2-0 win over Cardiff for selection reasons.
Yet that is not expected to affect the desire to move on fellow attacker Blair, who has made just 29 appearances during two years on the south coast.
Anderson is expected to return from his torn quad in a fortnight, while Murphy is pencilled in for a be back in six weeks, thereby bolstering Mousinho’s wing options.
In the meantime, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, Abu Kamara and Tyrese Shade are expected to be Mousinho’s flank options for Saturday’s trip to high-flying Charlton.
They will face an Addicks team which could include ex-Blues winger Milli Alli, who featured 21 times on loan in the second half of last season, scoring once.
As well as seeking to offload Blair at present, Pompey are also hopeful of finding Jacob Farrell an A-League club, with Australian football’s transfer window shutting on September 15.