Portsmouth boss John Mousinho sets transfer D-Day as he agonises over making centre-half signing

Pompey will wait until January 1 before deciding whether to strengthen their centre-half pool.

John Mousinho wants to assess the injury situation of his five central defenders before deciding whether to give the transfer go-ahead in next month’s crucial window.

With long-term absentee Conor Shaughnessy pencilled in to return for Charlton’s visit to Fratton Park on December 29, potentially the Blues could be up to full strength in that position before the year 2025 is out.

Although Ibane Bowat failed a Friday fitness test on a rolled ankle to face Derby and Josh Knight is expected to remain sidelined for another week or so with bone bruising to his back, Mousinho is feeling encouraged over centre-half availability.

Certainly he was pleased with the performance of defensive pairing Hayden Matthews and Regan Poole in Saturday’s 1-1 draw.

And with two matches, effectively three if you include the New Year’s Day encounter with Bristol City, before the January window opens, the injury situation will dictate whether Pompey bolster the centre of defence.

‘I don’t know how quickly that’s going to change’

Mousinho told The News: ‘Whether we sign another central defender depends on the injury situation come January 1, that’s the only way we can put it.

‘Against Blackburn, we had Ashton Sizer on the bench and we had three senior centre-halves out of action, that picture changed slightly at the weekend.

‘We’ve got one back, Conor Shaughnessy is close to being back, Josh Knight is close to being back and Ibane isn’t far - but I don’t know how quickly that is going to change.

‘Across the five of them there have been injury worries over either the short-term or long-term over the past 18 months. It’s the same with all of the spots, we’ve got to be fluid and flexible with them.

‘I would say it’s the same with all the centre-back lads we’ve got in the building at the minute.’

Shaughnessy out since September

Shaughnessy has been out of action since September, when he pulled his hamstring in the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

He has subsequently missed the last 15 matches, as his miserable 18 months continue. Encouragingly, however, he is now back working on grass, although has still to return to full training.

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Meanwhile, Poole ended his two-game absence by featuring in Saturday’s Pride Park loss, while Knight has missed the last three fixtures.

Their recent injury problems opened the door for Hayden Matthews and Ibane Bowat to return to the starting XI, having found it difficult to break into the team this season.

‘Regan has been the most consistent’

However, Poole was back in the side on Saturday, replacing Bowat after injuring his ankle in training on Wednesday and subsequently failing a fitness test.

Mousinho added: We are trying to build up a solid bank of games. Regan has been the most consistent in terms of availability and his playing time this year.

‘With the others, Ibane and Hayden have come back from long-term injuries and for them to be fit for pretty much all of the season has been a positive.’

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