‘Most Likely’ – John Mousinho Explains Portsmouth’s Transfer Approach | OneFootball

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Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has revealed that there are a couple of free agents his club are looking at, but summer will be mostly about paying fees and bringing players in on loan.

Mousinho’s Portsmouth showed character in the second half of the season to make sure that they did not have to be involved in the relegation conundrum in the Championship.

Now, as they prepare for their second successive season in the second tier, summer transfer plans have already started to take shape at Fratton Park.

Mousinho wants Rob Atkinson back, but admits Pompey are dependent upon what Bristol City want to do.

The Portsmouth manager expects a summer transfer window where his side will pick up loan stars but also pay transfer fees for others.

He insists that the market has for many clubs changed and free agents are less the order of the day, with fees now regularly being paid for players.

Mousinho admits though that there are certainly some free agents that he has his eye on and is interested in signing.

“There are not a huge amount of free agents that are available”, Mousinho told the BBC (7:35).

“Clubs nowadays are starting to do business a bit differently than they were five, six, seven years ago, where there were short-term contracts that you would have seen right throughout the leagues, tend not to be the case anymore.

“You don’t get a huge amount that actually run their contracts down not for the right reasons but for reason that you know you are going to be able to move on.

“And it is not going to be the club’s decision.

“I think that has changed, players tend to get tied down to longer contracts, looking at the business we have done this year during the season, I think we have managed to demonstrate that.

“Because now we are a Championship club, the level of contracts we are talking about, there is a difference.

“So, we have to change that approach though.

“There is not saying that there are no free agents out there, there are definitely a couple we are really interested in.

“But it is most likely going to be a combination of paying fees for players and then bringing loans in.”

Portsmouth will be keen to build on the foundations put in place over the course of this season as they look to head into another Championship campaign.

Mousinho helped to make Fratton Park a fortress and he will be keen to now kick Pompey on to the next level.