The squad list issue Portsmouth must find answer to to facilitate summer transfer business
Pompey currently have 29 first-team players on their books - four of whom are under the age of 21 and would not needed to be included in their next 25-man squad list
Pompey fans can expect a busy period of transfer activity at Fratton Park this summer.
With the Blues keen to build on last season’s 18th-place finish and establish themselves as a Championship club not always under threat of relegation, a host of reinforcements can be expected after the transfer window officially opens for business on June 15.
A new front-line striker and midfielder, a right-winger, and left-back are among the positions Pompey will look to bolster in the coming weeks and months with an anticipated increased budget.
However, the Blues must navigate an important hurdle in order to facilitate any new arrivals.
Championship’s 25-man squad limit
While Pompey’s recruitment team are busy behind the scenes working on deals to enhance John Mousinho’s first-team ranks, they’ll also be conscious of the restrictions they must abide by in terms of squad liimits.
All Championship clubs must adhere to the Football League’s 25-man squad cap that does not include any player under the age of 21.
It’s nothing new, with the Blues opting to register a 23-man squad list over the second half of last season amid injuries to Josh Knight, Harvey Blair and loanee Florian Bianchini.
GoalkeeperJordan Archer, meanwhile, was left out for the entire 2025-26 campaign and prevented from playing despite being on the Blues’ books.
His absence was simply down to a lack of space in Pompey’s Championship ranks, a consquence that the likes of Ben Stevenson and Tom Lowry had to deal with during their 2024-25 Fratton Park stays.
Yet going into next season, already the Blues face a similar prospect if they can’t trim their numbers.
29 players currently expected to report back fro pre-season training
Despite saying goodbye to Andre Dozzell and Archer at the end of last season, plus their six loanees, Pompey currently have 29 players who will report back for pre-season training at the end of June.
It’s a number that includes Conor Ogilvie and Zak Swason, who are yet to renew their contracts, and Jacob Farrell, who spent the second half of last season at Western Sydney Wanderers on loan.
Youngsters Toby Steward (21) and Tayo Singerr (18) are also included in that figure. Although, given their respective ages, they don’t count towards the 25-man squad list total.
It’s the same with Franco Umeh and Thomas Waddingham, who are both 21 years of age.
Yet despite this quartet not counting towards the 25-man squad limit, the Blues’ current ranks mean they are already at full capacity.
At present, all remaining twenty-five members of their current ranks would all need to be registered in order to play, including Hayden Matthews, Adrian Segecic, Jojo Dia and Makenzie Kirk, who were all recognised as under-21 players last season and did not take up a spot in the squad list.
The simple squad list solutuon
It’s an obstacle Pompey have no choice but to overcome, with a repeat of the Archer, Stevenson and Lowry situations - who remained on the pay roll - something the club will want avoid.
But in order to successfully navigate the situation, further player exits are a must.
It’s as simple as that! Yet who goes to make room for any summer 2026 incomings remains to be seen.
Prized-assets Terry Devlin and Segecic are two obvious candidates. If the price is right, the Blues will find it difficult not to cash in on their star duo.
But with Pompey’s strength and depth often questioned last term, the club will be more interested in parting ways with those who struggled for regular game time or failed to make a consistent first-team impact.
Kirk, Farrell, Jordan Williams, Josh Knight, Ibane Bowat, Luke Le Roux and Harvey Blair automatically spring to mind. Mark Kosznovszky is another. But with the Hungarian out until the end of the year with a knee injury, he’s more likey to find himself excluded from Pompey’s 25-man squad list for the first half of the campaign rather than being sold.
All of the above will be confident in their own minds that they are good enough to help push Pompey forward next season.
They might be right. However, Pompey can’t afford to wait around to see.
With new additions needed, exits are an inevitable consequence. And the more players the Blues recruit over the close season, the greater the pressure will be on them to part ways with certain members of the current group.
The Championship’s 25-man squad list and the club’s playing budget rule guarantees that.
Current squad (over-21): Ebou Adams, Keshi Anderson, Colby Bishop, Harvey Blair. Ibane Bowat, Josef Bursik, Terry Devlin, Jojo Dia, Jacob Farrell, Ben Killip, Makenzie Kirk, Josh Knight, Mark Kosznovszky, Luke Le Roux, Hayden Matthews, Josh Murphy, Connor Ogilvie, Marlon Pack, Regan Poole, Nicolas Schmid, Adrian Segecic, Conor Shaughnessy, Zak Swanson, John Swift, Jordan Williams.
Contracted under-21 players: Tayo Singerr, Toby Steward, Franco Umeh, Thomas Waddingham.
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