Former Portsmouth and Millwall man details key issue Blues must address in summer transfer window

Paul Robinson is adamant Pompey need to recruit a frontline centre-half this summer.

But the former Fratton Park defender believes the Blues’ six central defensive options remains too many, with the backline requiring some attention in the window.

Regan Poole was an ever-present in the Championship last season at PO4, establishing himself as a central figure as Pompey secured an 18th-placed finish.

Conor Shaughnessy, Josh Knight and Hayden Matthews’ campaigns were largely disrupted by injury, while Madiodio Dia and Ibane Bowat provided essential cover.

The futures of some of those figures are under the spotlight, with the latter the most likely to depart as he heads into the final 12 months of his current terms.

Furthermore, links with Luke Graham, Leon King and Ibrahim Buhari suggest the Blues are also looking to recruit at the heart of defence this summer.

The transfer situation Pompey must address in summer window

And according to former central defender Robinson, the Blues do need to trim down their options at centre-back, while still looking to recruit a Championship-ready operator in the market.

He told The News: ‘Yeah I think so (need to cut down the amount of bodies at centre-half). If you’re going to play - like they tend to do - a back four, then you’ll probably want four centre-halves.

‘They would normally cover that, your two regular starters and then two back-ups.

‘It’s weird, they’ve only got that (number) because of the injury situation over the last few years, they’ve needed to bring in centre-halfs.

‘I think you’ll see with any team, if you haven't got a decent goalkeeper and a couple of really good centre-halves then it’s always going to be hard in games because you’re going to concede goals, which leaves you up against it.

‘I think generally four (would be enough) and you would’ve thought they would’ve thought about trimming down that area from six to say five or even four so that a bit of money can be used elsewhere on the pitch.

‘It’s a difficult one because it’s one position where you probably can’t have too many players.

‘You look at Dia as one with potential and needs a bit of time to improve and progress, Hayden Matthews is the same.

‘If they (Pompey) are going to improve and strengthen that area, it needs to be someone that comes in, improves that starting XI instantly and can be a consistent regular starter.

‘It has to be someone who can push Poole and Shaughnessy and has to challenge them for a starting spot.

‘It’s got to be a signing that can improve the team as well as the squad.’

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Pompey’s number one centre-back pairing

When fit, Poole and Shaughnessy have been first-choice under Mousinho since their 2023 arrivals.

Although Robinson is keen for the Blues to strengthen at the heart of defence, the former Millwall and AFC Wimbledon man believes the popular duo Pompey’s best pairing at present.

‘Poole and Shaughnessy definitely. They’re a good partnership, they balance each other really well and like everyone's seen when they play together they do look like a really good pairing and a really good pairing in the Championship.

‘The difficulty has been that they haven’t been able to play together enough.

‘In terms of those that are there at the moment, definitely (they’re the best centre-back pairing).

‘There’s a lot of potential in the others, bringing Knight in was good for his age, his profile and his experience.

‘But for me if everyone’s fully fit and firing then those two would be the two.’

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