Portsmouth boss reveals striker first-team involvement picture ahead of Southampton after winning transfer chase
John Mousinho reveals the scenario over St Johnstone signing’s readiness to play ahead of the south-coast derby, after beating the likes of Peterborough United to his transfer capture.
Makenzie Kirk is ready to make a first-team impact now after his Pompey arrival.
And Pompey boss John Mousinho has celebrated adding the new boy’s ‘eye for goal’, after fending off a host of sides to capture the striking starlet.
Mousinho on Makenzie Kirk: ‘He can impact the side now’
Kirk is available for his first Blues involvement after arriving from St Johnstone on deadline day, with a three-year deal agreed for an undisclosed fee.
Mousinho confirmed Pompey beat a host of sides to the Northern Ireland under-21 international’s capture, with Peterborough United known to have also agreed a fee for the 21-year-old after having a £500,000 bid knocked back.
The head coach lauded adding another talent to his striker options, with Kirk ready to push Colby Bishop and Thomas Waddingham for inclusion now.
Mousinho said: ‘Makenzie comes down with good experience of men’s football and scoring goals at a decent level.
‘We actually haven’t seen Makenzie yet because he’s been away with the 21s and got some game time there which is pleasing.
‘But he’ll be back in the building and is a player who comes in with decent pedigree.
‘He had quite a few clubs chasing him, so we’re pleased to have landed on top of that.
‘We feel he can impact the side now, which you can see because he’s already been playing men’s football.
‘He has played across the front line, but we see him as a centre-forward. He has a really good physical profile and that is where we think he’ll fit in best.
‘At the minute, in terms of wide areas, we’ve brought in that pace and power at the top end of the pitch.
‘We now have Franco (Umeh), Murph (Murphy), Minhyeok (Yang), Florian (Bianchini) and Harvey (Blair) when he’s back fit, so we feel we’re okay in those wide areas. We just needed a bit of centre-forward back-up.’
Pompey boss: ‘A decent eye for goal’
Mousinho gave an exciting breakdown of the attributes he believes Kirk will add to his group, with an eye for a finish a standout asset for the prolific academy marksman who bagged nine Scottish Premier League goals last season at a tender age.
Mousinho added: ‘He’s a very, very willing runner, which is brilliant first and foremost. He runs the channels very well and is a difficult centre-forward to play against.
‘Physically he’s tall, he’s lean and he’s quick with a decent enough eye for the back of the net for a young player.
‘There’s definitely parts of his game that are good, but we need to keep working on his hold-up play, his link play and make sure he drops in as well as spinning and running the channels.
‘I’d describe him as an athletic centre-forward who likes to run the channels, with a decent eye for goal as well.’