‘Can’t afford to make those mistakes’: John Mousinho’s honest view on Portsmouth transfer gambles
Pompey have upped their transfer spending this summer, but there’s still little margin for error in John Mousinho’s eyes.
John Mousinho admitted Pompey are still not in a position to take risks with their transfer spending.
The Blues boss insisted his club are still a long way from being able to have ‘punts’ on recruits some of their rivals are able to afford.
Mousinho on Pompey transfers: ‘You can’t necessarily afford to make those mistakes’
.jpeg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
Mousinho’s view comes in a period where last summer’s business is a talking point, in the wake of £1m capture Luke Le Roux leaving after his contract was torn up.
Pompey have this summer significantly upped their spending on fees this summer, with around £11m splashed out fees. That’s up from around £1m in the first season in the Championship and £4m last term.
Mousinho acknowledged increased spending does alleviate some risk on signings, but also brings greater pressure to get business right.
That wasn’t the case with Le Roux after his £1m arrival from IFK Varnamo last summer, a fact acknowledged by Mousinho and sporting director Rich Hughes as he joined Belgian side Cercle Bruges as a free agent last week after his Fratton exit.
Recruitment, of course, isn’t an exact science with hits and misses along the way and Pompey now possessing assets in the likes of Terry Devlin, Adrian Segečić and summer arrivals who will hopefully appreciate in value.
Devlin and Segečić were more speculative successes with the Northern Ireland international costing just £80,000, while Segečić arrived from Sydney FC for around £200,000 in training compensation.
They are both valued in the multi-million pound category now, with Mousinho suggesting those kind of fees, along with summer capture Eoin Kenny, are probably the limit of signings which could fall into the area of transfer gambles.
He said: ‘We still have to get things right.
‘In theory spending more decreases the risk, but it increases the risk as well - because you’re spending more money.
‘You can’t necessarily afford to make those mistakes.
‘I know it sounds flippant, but maybe a £500,000 player (for most Championship teams) at this level, you can afford to have a couple of punts
‘We’re not at that stage yet I don’t think, but we probably are with £50,000-£100,000, the likes of an Eoin Kenny or a Terry Devlin.
‘We can bring them in and develop them over the longer term.
‘As you can get into the realms of spending seven figures on a player it does increase the pressure.
‘You’re hoping to get a better quality of player but sometimes it doesn’t work out.
‘Look at all the players who signed in the Championship over the past four or five years.
‘I guarantee there are plenty of players bought for £5m or £10m-plus who haven’t worked out.’