The calculated Portsmouth transfer ventures being taken as wait to see £500,000 Crystal Palace arrival continues
The Pompey boss has used the examples of Crystal Palace signing Franco Umeh and the deal for Liverpool’s Harvey Blair as indicative of a significant strand of his club’s transfer work.
John Mousinho acknowledged Pompey are needing to be creative in their recruitment as they wait for summer signings to make their mark.
The Blues boss told how his club have to search for the ‘next best option’, as they go up against Championship clubs with greater resources in the hunt for players.
Mousinho: ‘What’s the next best option for us?’
And that is leading Pompey into markets where there is likely greater risks associated with the players being recruited.
Summer business which was championed at the transfer window’s close is being reappraised by supporters, amid a difficult run of one win in 11 second-tier outings for Mousinho’s men.
The wait is continuing for a number of those additions to make an impact, with the business a mix of players recruited to impact the team now and signings for the longer term.
Mousinho cited the £500,000 arrival of Franco Umeh from Crystal Palace as an example of the kind of business the club are turning to, as they explore the under-21 market.
The Pompey boss feels the potential of the Republic of Ireland international is clear, after spending a lot of time watching the swathe of talent emerging at Selhurst Park.
But supporters have yet to see Umeh in action two-and-a-half months on from his arrival, as the winger deals with a hamstring injury.
Mousinho accepted these are part of the conditions Pompey are working in when it comes to recruitment, with the head coach believing the approach of trying to develop such talent into assets is the right thing to do.
When asked about balancing recruiting young talent for the future with players who impact the team now, Mousinho said: ‘We have a really good example of that.
‘We talk about players at Championship level and going to compete in a certain market you’ll need to spend £5m.
Umeh has ‘massive upside’ and ‘huge potential’
‘If we haven’t got that, what’s the next best option for us?
‘If you’re going into the under-21 market and sign someone like Franco, he has a massive upside and huge amount of potential if we get him fit and firing.
‘But he’s also a young lad who’s also not played any first-team football. That’s where we currently are and we have to work with those sorts of signings.
‘I think it’s absolutely the right thing to do as a football club, but we have to try to develop those sorts of players and, at the same time, hope those players affect it at first-team levels as well.
‘Harvey’s another one. We haven’t seen enough of Harvey through injury and illness but when Harvey hits the ground running he’s a very capable player at Championship level. He’ll add real value as well.’