Andy Cullen has disclosed that Pompey’s summer recruitment plans are going’very well’.
The Blues plan to have a handful of fresh additions in the building by the start of preseason. But the Fratton Park club’s chief executive stated that nothing will be made public until the transfer window opens on Friday, June 14.
Pompey are willing to continue to this philosophy despite fears that nothing is guaranteed until the transfer window formally opens for business. It meant Blues fans were greeted with a slew of new arrivals last June, with Will Norris, Christian Saydee, Conor Shaughnessy, Terry Devlin, and Anthony Scully all announced as new Pompey players within hours of the summer window opening. That is something the Fratton fans may be treated to again this year, especially with John Mousinho eager to have the majority of his players ready for pre-season testing on Thursday, June 27 and the return of training on Monday, July 3. Mousinho and sports director Rich Hughes are now on vacation. When asked how summer recruitment was progressing by BBC Radio Solent, Cullen replied, “Yeah, very well.” Obviously, the League One season isn’t over yet, with the play-off final on Saturday and the Championship play-off final taking place next weekend.
‘But we’ve had a lot of targets and conversations in place for a few months now, and recruitment never stops – it doesn’t simply start when the transfer window opens or closes; it’s an ongoing process.
So there are a lot of discussions and talks. We selected a number of targets before the end of the season. Rich and John are attempting to relax on vacation, and I don’t believe their phones are ever turned off. It was always like this during the summer transfer window and recruitment, so perhaps we’ll see some consistent progress.
‘The goal has been to bring as many new faces into the building as possible before the start of pre-season, which worked well for us last year. We’re eager to recreate that for the 2024-25 season.
Another hectic transfer window is expected ahead of Pompey’s Championship return, with 10 players set to leave this summer with Joe Morrell and Zak Swanson both on the verge of leaving. Last summer, 14 new faces were introduced, but Hughes and Mousinho have yet to reveal how many acquisitions will be made this year.
Cullen, as CEO, will be essential to these transactions. He explained further why fans will have to wait for formal confirmation of fresh arrivals.
‘Nothing is guaranteed until the window opens,’ the CEO explained. ‘There are several ways to finish transactions, but it is impossible to adequately disclose anything because anything might happen.
‘So you simply want to safeguard yourself and make sure that everything you do, even if you think you have it, doesn’t accidentally alert a competitor. We performed reasonably well last year, with certain things beautifully wrapped up before the window opened. It will be the same this year.
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