Portsmouth boss’ outlines position over future of wingers after tough stays for former Liverpool and Crystal Palace duo
Harvey Blair made five Pompey starts last season, with Franco Umeh restricted to two substitute appearances.
John Mousinho will decide Harvey Blair’s Pompey future in the coming weeks.
And the Blues boss will also come to a decision on what lies ahead for Franco Umeh in the same period, after difficult Fratton stays for the younger wingers.
Former Crystal Palace and Liverpool duo’s futures under spotlight
Mousinho hinted that a lack of involvement for Blair last season points to a future away from PO4, as the £300,000 Liverpool signing enters the final year of his existing agreement.
The 22-year-old’s future is under the spotlight, during two years which have been hampered by injury, with hamstring and hip problems leading to extended spells on the sidelines.
That’s restricted the likable figure to 28 appearances in two years, with five starts among his 15 outings last term.
It’s been an even tougher stay for Umeh, who arrived from Crystal Palace for £500,000 on the final day of the summer window last year.
The 21-year-old campaign was effectively a write-off, with a hamstring injury meaning the Irishman didn’t make his debut until coming on late in the 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic last December.
He then suffered a recurrence of the issue ending his campaign, when replacing the injured Blair in January’s FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.
Mousinho suggested he would run the rule over the duo with particular reference to Umeh, before making his ultimate decision on their futures.
But the head coach underlined their first challenge is simply to remain fit for extended periods.
Mousinho said: ‘At the moment both of those will be competing.
‘I’m going to need a proper look at them, I definitely need a proper look at Franco.
‘Harvey comes off the back of playing a couple of games at the back end of last season.
‘He’s not had a huge amount of involvement.
‘When it came to that stage of last season in the final eight games when we were ready to really kick in with that relegation fight, he’s not had a lot of involvement.’
‘I need to see more of them in this pre-season - and they need to stay fit. That’s the main challenge for them.’
Mousinho’s assessment of Blair and Umeh comes in a period where he’s made it clear as many as six of the existing squad can expect to leave Pompey this summer.
And the the man who starts his fourth full season in charge of the first team next term has made it clear the bar is being raised in terms of his squad.
He told The News last night: ‘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.’