Portsmouth boss’ bold summer transfer vision as club up transfer spending
‘I don’t think this is a summer of building, I think this is a summer of change’: That’s the clear statement of Championship transfer intent from the Pompey head coach.
John Mouinsho is expecting a significant squad overhaul this summer as Pompey hike their transfer spending.
The Blues boss is anticipating a ‘big’ revamp of his options in the coming months, as the club show their intent to progress in the Championship.
Mousinho: ‘I think this is a summer of change’
And Mousinho has made it clear he sees a shift away from the financial levels Pompey have been operating at in the second tier to date.
The head coach has confirmed both the playing and transfer budgets are going up next term, with work progressing over bringing in a number of targets.
Pompey are closing in on a £2.1m deal for Estonia international Rocco Shein, while Serb striker Marko Milovanović is a target to bolster the forward line.
The UD Almeria man would represent a significant incursion into the £2-5m category Mousinho has referenced as necessary to drive progress up the table.
Former loanee Abu Kamara is reportedly in Pompey’s sights, with the winger likely to leave Hull City this summer.
Stockport County midfielder Odin Bailey and Antalyaspor Jesper Ceesay are also names to have surfaced, though £2m defender Luke Graham is going to Stoke City.
Mousinho is clear over where Pompey are now headed as they up their transfer outlays.
He said: ‘We have (details on playing and transfer budgets).
‘We have numbers for both of them. The transfer budget is not so much flexible, but we need to gauge where the market’s at - but I’m sure Michael (Eisner) wouldn’t say this!
‘We haven’t made a purchase yet and it’s a difficult landscape.
‘The prices of players has gone up and up. The price of everything goes up, it’s not just everyday living but players as well.
‘The price of players goes up and wages go up, so there’s those two separate pots to deal with.
‘We’ve got to balance that off and do the appropriate amount of work to the squad.
‘I don’t think this is a summer of building, I think this is a summer of change.
‘I think this is a summer of really moving away from where we’ve been over the past couple of seasons - so I think there’s a lot of work to do in the squad.
‘I expect there to be big changes to the squad by the time the dust settles on September 1.’
Pompey have yet to get their first business over the line, with the summer window still at a relatively formative stage.
Mousinho underlined there needs to be an assessment of how the market is evolving, with the likes of Birmingham City and Wrexham driving up prices last year.
The Pompey boss feels that could bring a need to be flexible over the improved level of spending moving forward.
He added: ‘I think we’ve got numbers and we’re working very hard to ensure that we stick to those parameters.
‘But I think we have to see how things change over the summer, with how much everything costs.’