Pompey have been in contact with Premier League clubs as they look to do further business in this summer’s transfer market

John Mousinho has admitted Pompey have held talks with Premier League clubs during the current transfer window.

And the Blues head coach admitted those discussions could pay off from next week as team’s pre-season tours abroad come to an end ahead of the new season.

Pompey have been active in the transfer window to date, with six new arrivals coming through the doors at Fratton Park this summer.

None of the new intake, however, have arrived from the top flight of the English game. Instead, only one of the six, former Stockport midfielder Odin Bailey, has experience of playing in England, with Eoin Kenny, Rocco Shein, Marko Milovanovic, Daniel Bielica and Luke Brooke-Smith all recruited from foreign markets.

That could soon change, though, with the Blues working on a move to bring Hull City winger Abu Kamara back to Fratton Park. Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Ryan Kavuma-McQueen has also been linked with a loan switch to PO4 as Mousinho looks to bring in another six players before the transfer window closes at 11pm on Tuesday, September 1.

Neither deal is considered close, especially with Kamara currently away with Hull on their visit to Slovenia and Turkey. Teenage winger Kavuma-McQueen is also part of Xabi Alonso’s ranks as they prepare for fixtures in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia before heading home on Sunday.

Yet, Mousinho expects things to accelerate next week as Premier League side’s return to the UK to step up their preparations for the new season and those players involved in the latter stages of the World Cup head back to their respective clubs.

Speaking directly to fans at BBC Radio Solent’s latest fans’ forum, the Pompey head coach said those movements will begin to filter down the ladder and benefit the likes of the Blues.

Mousinho said: ‘The big issue that we've had this year, I think with ins and outs, has been the fact that the World Cup was late in the summer, which meant that the Premier League clubs... their players returned a bit late to training, so they all kept hold of all their under-21 players.

‘If you looked at the Liverpool game Sunday night, for example. There'll be five or six out of that Liverpool side that actually end up going on alone, so once the Premier League clubs have sorted it their end, there's a real filter system that goes down and that really affects us for ins and outs.

‘We've been having those discussions with Premier League clubs and they've had tours as well.

‘A couple of the players are back on tour, they take them away to the Far East or to the States and they need to fulfil quite a few fixtures out there.

‘And when they're back they're willing to start looking at loan agreements and once that happens we can start moving players out and everything just starts to move a bit smoother and everything filters down.’

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Mousinho’s Premier League loans

Under Mousinho, Pompey have a tendency to bring in at least one Premier League under-21 player on loan each August to bolster his options.

The 2023-24 season saw Alex Robertson (Man City) and Tino Anjorin (Chelsea) recruited, with Myles Peart-Harris arriving from Brentford in January 2024.

West Ham’s Freddie Potts and Brighton’s Mark O’Mahony were drafted in on season-long loans in 2024-25, with Liverpool’s Kaide Gordon added to the Blues’ ranks in January 2025.

Meanwhile, last summer Minhyeok Yang arrived from Spurs, only to be recalled early in January to facilitate a move to Coventry, before Aji Alese was signed from Sunderland for the second half of the season.

Their presence has provided the squad with a welcome boost, all without paying a transfer fee. However, of the above, only Robertson and Potts’ time at PO4 would be considered a success.

Harvey Blair (Liverpool) and Franco Umeh (Crystal Palace) were recruited on permanent deals.

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