Portsmouth quartet have come of age - and it has given Blues a big transfer window headache
The quartet are no longer considered under-21 players for Football League squad purposes
Adrian Segecic has come of age, likewise Madiodio Dia, Hayden Matthews and Makenzie Kirk - and that’s bad news for Pompey.
The quartet were classed as under-21 players last season in terms of the Football League 25-man squad, by virtue of having been born after January 1, 2004.
Indeed, the Blues had nine such players, whose inclusion helpfully didn’t count towards final squad numbers, which require registering with the league twice a season.
However, while Toby Steward, Franco Umeh, Thomas Waddingham and Tayo Singerr still qualify as under-21s, it no longer applies to Segecic, Dia, Matthews and Kirk.
As a consequence, of the 27 players contracted at Fratton Park for the 2026-27 season and beyond, crucially just four were born after January 1, 2025.
Recruitment headache
It leaves Rich Hughes and Co with a recruitment headache as he seeks to bolster Pompey’s squad this summer, while balancing it out with necessary departures.
The 23 players which aren’t categorized as under-21s do not include Zak Swanson and Connor Ogilvie, who are still in negotiation with the Blues over new contracts.
Should they be added, as is widely expected among the Fratton Park hierarchy, John Mousinho’s squad will already be at a maximum of 25 - without having added a single new player in the current transfer window.
And with plenty of squad strengthening required this summer, particularly in the centre of midfield, on the wings and up front, the solution would be to sell or loan out fringe players - or not even register them.
Creating Portsmouth squad space
Certainly that would put the spotlight on Harvey Blair and Kirk, who have struggled for starts since their arrivals and, no longer under-21 players, could be perceived as taking up precious squad space.
Room is expected to be created by the departure of Jacob Farrell, who is contracted until the summer of 2028. By all accounts, there won’t be a shortage of interest from clubs either.
Pompey are vastly overstocked at centre-half, numbering six, with Ibane Bowat and Josh Knight the most vulnerable as it stands.
Elsewhere, deciding against registering Mark Kosznovszky for the first half of the 2026-27 season is an obvious answer, particularly as he isn’t expected to return from his ACL injury until December.
That situation could be reassessed after the January 2027 transfer window, when the 25-man squad needs to be submitted once more to the Football League.
Another solution could be to keep Toby Steward in the building rather than sending him on another loan, a pathway which saw him star for St Johnstone last season as they were crowned Scottish Championship winners.
As an under-21s player, his presence could allow Ben Killip to be loaned out, thereby creating one space from the goalkeeping pool which also includes Nicolas Schmid and Josef Bursik.
Selling Terry Devlin
Pompey have also long braced themselves to reluctantly lose Terry Devlin as suitors declare their interest, thereby creating further room in their squad.
In terms of summer signings, the likelihood is there will once again be a number of young, promising additions to maintain the Blues’ favoured player recruitment model.
On the flipside, those born after January 1, 2005, will, of course, be categorised as under-21s and therefore won’t impact squad restrictions.
Regardless, a change of categorisation for Segecic, Dia, Matthews and Kirk makes Pompey’s summer recruitment plans a whole lot more complex.
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