Portsmouth boss makes important call on ex-Fulham defender's future amid bid to complete transfer for centre-back
Pompey boss rules out loan move for defender for now amid pursuit of further defensiv reinforcements
Pompey have no plans at present to send Ibane Bowat out on loan to help facilitate his return to regular first-team football.
Blues boss John Mousinho has revealed he’s keen to keep the centre-back in and around his senior set-up, despite the Fratton Park club closing in on a move for Hannover 96’s English defender Josh Knight.
Knight, who is expected to complete the formalities of his permanent switch to the south coast in the coming days, will take the number of centre-halves at Pompey’s disposal to six.
That will see Bowatt - along with the free-to-leave Tom McIntyre - move further down the PO4 pecking order, with the former Fulham man not even in the match-day squad for last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Norwich City. Instead, Conor Shaughnessy and Regan Poole got the nod to start against the Canaries, while January arrival, Hayden Matthews, provided cover on the bench.
A temporary move away from Pompey could help Bowat, who missed the whole of last season because of a freak knee injury, avoid the situation where he’s forced to watch on from the stands on a Saturday afternoon - something that he had to endure last term after he suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in training last September.
But that’s not something Mousinho is currently entertaining, as he believes the player will benefit more from remaining part of the group at Fratton Park.
John Mousinho rules out loan move for Ibane Bowat
The Pompey head coach said: ‘That (a loan move for Bowat) is not something we've particularly thought about at the moment.
‘We like the composition of where we are at the minute in terms of the contracted boys, and we think even with the likes of Ibane, who's missed a lot of football, I think it's pretty good for him to be around the first-team squad at the moment and to keep pushing.
‘We definitely see him as someone who can affect the first-team.’
Pompey obstacles Ibane Bowat must overcome
Bowat - a late transfer window signing from Fulham last summer - made his long-awaited Pompey debut in their Carabao Cup defeat to League One Reading last week.
Playing alongside Matthews in the heart of the Blues defence, the 22-year-old endured a mixed night on the pitch, before being substituted just after the hour mark.
After being named on the bench for Pompey’s season opener against Oxford United, there was no place for him in the match-day squad against Norwich.
And with the Blues reporting no injuries from that game against the Canaries, it’s doubtful whether the defender will be involved when Mousinho & Co travel to the Hawthorns this Saturday.
Coupled with Pompey’s early exit from the League Cup, it’s hard to see Bowat getting consistent game time to really push for a starting place - a job that will be made that more difficult by Knight’s arrival.
Mousinho admitted he’ll monitor the situation appropriately, while also admitting Pompey could organise behind-closed-doors fixtures to help those on the fringes of the starting XI.
In response to the suggestion that a lack of games could prove detrimental, Mousinho added: ‘I guess that's part of the issue about being knocked out of the League Cup.
‘We'll monitor that and we'll see how it goes, but we've got a bit of time as well in the international break with the squad to potentially get a game in there, so we'll see how that is.’
For your next Pompey read: Pompey dealt injury blow as timeframe for Callum Lang recovery revealed