The dream start to Portsmouth’s summer transfer

 

Portsmouth will return to English football’s second tier next season, following a successful season in League One.

John Mousinho’s side won 28 of 46 league matches and lost only five, accumulating 97 points on their way to automatic promotion and the third-tier title.

League One final standings 2023/24
	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Portsmouth (C)	46	37	97
2	Derby County (P)	46	41	92
3	Bolton Wanderers	46	35	87
4	Peterborough United	46	28	84

Pompey will return to the Championship for the first time in over a decade in 2024/25, after being relegated to League One in 2011/12.

While this is very exciting, it also means that the football club will have a lot of work to do this summer to prepare their squad for the next level up.

Pompey can, of course, be encouraged by the fact that one of last season’s third-tier automatic promotion winners, Ipswich Town, has gone on to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League this season, but they must also be wary of Plymouth Argyle, who, like Portsmouth, won the League One title last season but narrowly avoided the drop.

With that said, here’s what a strong start to the transfer window could look like at Fratton Park, with one player coming in and one leaving.

In: Antony Evans

With Portsmouth back in the second tier, there have already been some high-profile targets linked with the south coast club this summer.

Pompey are reportedly interested in signing AFC Bournemouth’s Jamal Lowe, who was on loan at Swansea this season, and Crystal Palace’s Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.

Antony Evans, a more realistic but still excellent addition, is a Bristol Rovers midfielder.

Portsmouth are interested in signing the 25-year-old, who has only one year left on his contract at the Memorial Stadium, as part of their squad overhaul after promotion.

Portsmouth would need to negotiate a fee with Bristol Rovers to sign him. The club is also in talks about a new deal for their midfielder, indicating their desire to keep him.

This is perhaps unsurprising given that he recently won their Player of the Year Award. However, no new agreement has been reached as of yet, making this deal a real possibility heading into the summer.

Out: Tom Lowery

Those on the fringes of Fratton Park will have to make way for new signings this summer.

In all honesty, there are a few players we could have chosen here, but one player the club should consider moving on is Tom Lowery.

The main reason for this is Lowery’s poor injury record since joining the club in 2022.

In 2022/23, the midfielder played 21 times across all competitions, but only made nine League One appearances this season.

After missing months due to a knee injury sustained on the first day of the season against Bristol Rovers, he returned to action in January, only to suffer a nearly season-ending hamstring injury.

Putting ability aside, given his track record, Portsmouth simply cannot rely on Lowery for what is sure to be a difficult Championship season, and as such, it would be ideal for the club if they could get him off the wage bill this summer.

Lowery’s contract at Fratton Park runs until the summer of 2025, with one year remaining.

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