Transfer window thoughts as Portsmouth spend £10m

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho gave an interesting answer when I asked for his thoughts on the overall transfer window last week.

Managers usually talk about being stronger than they went in and key needs being met etc. Instead he just said: "Let's see."

In many ways it's a sensible response. Quick assessments of who "won" a transfer window often look foolish.

Last summer Pompey fans were excited by a deadline day which saw the loan arrival of Conor Chaplin and the club retaining Josh Murphy, despite stories of interest elsewhere. The rumour of a bid from Leicester turned out to be untrue.

In the end, Chaplin struggled to make an impact and Murphy missed most of the season injured.

This window has been different for Portsmouth, It remains a hugely impressive feat that they've stayed up in the Championship for two seasons with such modest spending.

Exact fees are hard to know but it's my understanding Portsmouth spent about £1.2m in 2024 and about £4m in 2025, very modest outlays by second tier standards.

They had not spent more than £1.5m on a single player for about 15 years but this summer they went over that threshold four times on Mark Milovanovic, Tyrese Shade, Abu Kamara and Rocco Shein.

They spent more than £10m overall.

That will naturally bring heightened expectation and more pressure, something sporting director Richard Hughes acknowledged and welcomes.

One summer of increased transfer fees hardly makes Pompey big spenders in the Championship.

This season they should stay up but demanding a lot more than that on the current budget would be unfair.

This window has also highlighted the errors of the past, a source at the club earlier in the summer said there were eight players they would like to move on.

Pompey managed to sell just one player for a fee in Ibane Bowat.

Five players have been loaned to League One clubs and, given the current financial situation of that division, it would be reasonable to assume Portsmouth are subsidising the wages of each of those players.

Although it's worth noting Makenzie Kirk and Hayden Matthews should be viewed as development loans and they are players who could contribute at Championship level in the future.

The squad clearly looks deeper. If a couple of the more expensive signings can go to the next level then Pompey should comfortably have enough to stay up.

Callum Lang remains the only player to be sold for significant profit since returning to the Championship.

Big sales can help trigger a virtuous cycle and are likely to be needed at some point for the club to kick on.

Have they got it right this summer? Let's see.