LATEST: Defender closes in on Portsmouth exit as move progresses
Jacob Farrell has amassed just three first-team appearances for Pompey during a frustrating 18-month stay.
Jacob Farrell looks to be heading out of the doors at Fratton Park, despite the English transfer window closing.
Jacob Brown, Gustavo Caballero and Madiodio Dia joined Millenic Alli, Ebou Adams, Keshi Anderson and Aji Alese in the building, with the quartet arriving earlier in the window.
Meanwhile, Tom McIntyre’s contract was terminated after reaching a mutual agreement and Callum Lang sealed his switch to Preston North End, who made a club-record fee to land the 27-year-old.
Defender still on course for Pompey exit
Exits aren’t finished there, though, with Farrell still advancing on a return to Australia on a temporary basis.
The News understands a move to the A-League was being finalised late on Monday evening, with John Mousinho giving the green light over his departure.
Reports down under have this morning named Western Sydney Wanderers as the left-back’s next destination, with the 24-year-old expected to join on a loan deal.
Although the English market has since slammed shut, the Aussie window remains open until February 10, allowing a move to be completed.
The 2024 arrival has been back in the fold in recent weeks after returning from the sidelines and registered 17 minutes against Watford in late January.
While Mousinho was keen to see how the latter stages of the window progressed before making a decision on his future, a temporary switch is now advancing.
Farrell has featured just twice for the Blues in all competitions this term after injuries hampered his 18-month stay.
John Mousinho on Jacob Farrell’s future
And although the head coach wanted to guard against leaving his squad exposed, the Blues boss did not want to block the development of a player who still has two-and-a-half years to run on his contract.
He told The News in late January: ‘Watford was Faz’s first league game since September 2024, that’s a huge amount of football to miss for someone we’re considering a loan for earlier in the window.
‘That’s something we’ve spoken about, but we said that’s something that can’t happen because we need him now. I wasn’t lying when I said that.
‘We needed him the other night, he was very close to coming on against Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton.
‘I was really pleased he got some minutes against Watford. He’s a good player, it’s just about getting him some game time really and trying to maximise that asset for us as a football club. We need to do that the best way we can, because he’s missed so much football.
‘For us, there’s a scenario where Faz stays in and impacts the side for the rest of the season. We’ll have to see.
‘We’ve seen Jacob once in the league, I thought he played really well against Sheffield United.
‘But it was such a long time ago and he’s had so many injuries since, it’s difficult to know what you’re going to get when he comes back into a different type of team and league that’s increasing in intensity - but I thought he did very well at Watford.
‘Hopefully he knows now we trust him to go on in a big game and big situation for us, he’s shown he can step up and produce.’
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