'Plenty of interest': Portsmouth boss targets slashing Fratton Park squad numbers
The Blues presently have a 34-man playing squad, of which five are classed as under-21s
Pompey are to ramp up player departures next week as they seek to drive down bulging squad numbers.
With 29 senior professionals presently on the books, the Blues are in danger of being unable to register four players with the Football League once the transfer window shuts.
What’s more, John Mousinho still wants to add another three new signings, including a left-back and a central midfielder.
Despite the Blues’ huge injury list, there wasn’t room for Hayden Matthews, Eoin Kenny and Josh Knight in their latest 20-man squad against QPR last weekend.
Pompey are keen to offload Josef Bursik, Jacob Farrell and Luke Le Roux ahead of the September 1 deadline, while Matthews has been earmarked for a loan.
The futures of Harvey Blair and Josh Knight remain unclear, although Mark Kosznovszky isn’t expected to return from injury until January so naturally won’t be registered.
And Mousinho knows player exits are essential to balance out a squad which, in total, has 34 players currently.
‘We had three players who weren't involved in the match-day squad’
He told The News: ‘There’s nothing on players leaving at the moment, it’s probably one which starts moving next week.
‘Probably can now start letting them go. We had three players who weren't involved in the match-day squad at the weekend - three outfield players - although things can change quickly with injuries.
‘It’s one of those, sometimes you have 17 available and sometimes you have 23-24 - and that can happen really, really quickly over a week.
‘I think we are probably in a position now that we’ll be all right letting players go, particularly if we make those additions next week and towards the back end of the window.’
34 players in Pompey’s squad
Of the 34 players presently on their books, Franco Umeh, Thomas Waddingham, Tayo Singerr, Eoin Kenny and Luke Brooke-Smith are regarded as under-21s.
As a consequence, they don’t count towards the squad maximum of 25 which has to be lodged with the Football League.
That leaves 29 senior players, including four goalkeepers and six central defenders, with any player not registered unable to feature for Pompey until January.
It’s a fate suffered by title-winning pair Ben Stevenson and Tom Lowery in the opening half of the 2024-25 season, while goalkeeper Jordan Archer wasn’t listed for the entirety of last season.
Mousinho, however, has revealed interest has been shown in some members of his squad, including Matthews, with League One clubs monitoring a potential loan switch.
‘There has been plenty of interest’
He added: ‘There has been plenty of interest, but nothing concrete or something we’ve wanted to say yes to at the moment, hence the players are still in the building.
‘Ideally, we don’t want to have any player not registered. If we can avoid that then we will try to avoid it at all costs.’