Who should Portsmouth sign in the summer?

Portsmouth are back in the Championship.

The step up from League One into the Championship can be a tricky one – not if you are Ipswich Town, mind you – but nevertheless Portsmouth are going to have to get their business right if they are to be competitive.

I spoke to Hancock Analysis to ascertain where he feels Portsmouth need to add during the summer, and put together the following list;

• Goalkeeper
• Right Back
• Right Centre-Back
• Holding Midfielder
• #8
• Left Winger (x2)
• Striker

With this list in mind, I scoured the market and identified some options that Portsmouth could look at in the summer.

Goalkeeper – True Grant (Manchester City – free)

In recent campaigns, we have seen a number of talented young goalkeepers go and get game time in the EFL; and, I hasten to add, for the betterment of their careers.

One player – therefore – that I think Portsmouth could look to sign, especially in light of their links on and off the field with Manchester City – is young stopper True Grant.

Will Norris is – rightly so – likely to be given the bulk of minutes next term given he has been the undisputed number one this term, and so whoever Pompey bring into the football club in the summer is going to have to bide their time, will likely have to be younger, and someone that Portsmouth can perhaps look to develop in time.

Grant will want to be in and around a first-team environment if he is to continue his development, and such opportunities are unlikely to be forthcoming at The Etihad Stadium. The chance to go and sign for a club on the up with a proven track record of developing players seems an environment that would be of real benefit to him at this point of his career.

He might not be a name that many have considered, but I think that he would make for a really exciting, long-term acquisition.

Right Back – Jamie Shackleton (Leeds United – free)

If Portsmouth want to sign a right-back this summer, one player who is without a deal – as it stands, at least, on paper – and who I’ve always been a big fan of is Jamie Shackleton.

Shackleton provides Portsmouth with a ready-made option for the league with his time at Leeds United during their promotion season and in spending time out on loan at Millwall across various loan spells. As such, he gives Portsmouth a player who knows the league, and can adapt to it even if Portsmouth have so many in this squad that are doing so for the first-time.

In terms of what he may bring to the table stylistically, Shackleton has always struck me as being a nippy, tidy football player that is comfortable on the ball, can progress it nicely from deep, isn’t afraid – or adverse – to stepping into the midfield in-keeping with the “modern day style” and is quite dynamic off the ball.

His versatility provides Portsmouth with an added bonus, given that he can play as a right-back or deployed in midfield, and given his technical proficiency and work-rate can be used on either side, too.

He is still only 24 years old, but has had a number of loan moves away from Leeds United and not featured heavily for The Whites; I think now is the time for him to go somewhere, settle down permanently, and an opportunity like this could be ideal for him.

Right Centre-Back – Harry Souttar (Leicester City – loan)

If they recruit smartly in the summer, given the level of on and off-field nous and managerial leadership Portsmouth have, I think they could quite easily go and do an Ipswich Town; why not?

If so, I feel they need to be ambitious with who they try to bring in as the option to replace Sean Raggett with a marquee, right-sided, centre-back addition. One player – who is right-footed – who has struggled for minutes this term, but who I think would personally relish a loan deal of this nature is Leicester City’s Harry Souttar.

Souttar has struggled to break into the City reckoning this season and so I have my doubts over whether or not he will be given the opportunities he wants in the top flight; I’d put my money on he won’t. As such, he will need to go out on loan and get minutes somewhere he is guaranteed of a spot in the eleven; I think the timing of Raggett’s exit and the spot that has opened up as a result makes perfect sense.

In terms of what type of player Souttar is, the former Fleetwood Town man is someone whose technical proficiency in passing out belies his perhaps large-framed stereotype, with delicate passes into midfield and perfectly-angled switches.

The towering defender gives Portsmouth an additional set-piece threat and would most certainly make a fierce partnership with another imposing player in Conor Shaughnessy. This may well be ambitious, but with Kusini Yengi already at the club and a possible return for an Aussie on the cards, I think Souttar would make for a welcome addition as part of the Aussie revolution.

Holding Midfielder – Freddie Potts (West Ham United – loan)

I will admit that this suggestion is one of the “extras” that Portsmouth may not need to add – with the future of Joe Morrell at the club unclear, as he remains in talks – but one player who I think they could look at in the event Morrell does, as I expect, depart is West Ham United youngster Freddie Potts.

Potts has had a stellar 2023-24 campaign out on loan with League One with Wycombe Wanderers, and the reports suggest that it is one whereby Potts has more than impressed for The Chairboys as one of their standout players. Indeed, his form this term has led many in a Hammers persuasion to believe that he is a bright, young prospect for the future.

Stylistically, Potts provides the same energetic, all-action, dynamism in the middle of the park that Morell possesses and is one who prides himself on having a strong work-ethic, being a good athlete, and so perhaps provides Portsmouth with a more youthful and mobile – yet all the while technically refined – version of what Morrell offers.

The Hammers will have been encouraged – understandably – by the speed of his development with The Chairboys, and so they – as much as anyone – will want to see him once again out on loan and just playing minutes in first-team football.

After a spell in League One, he now needs to be tested a step further with a loan in the Championship, and so if Morrell does depart then I think Potts would be a welcome addition in his place.

#8 – Alex Robertson (Manchester City – loan)

Does this suggestion really come as much surprise to Portsmouth fans? I highly doubt it.

The former Portsmouth midfielder indeed spent time with Manchester City earlier in the season prior to his injury, and so his time with the South Coast club was cut short. Now, after sealing a spot in the Championship and in need of strengthening their midfield pack, it would make logical sense on a lot of fronts that Robertson was to return to Fratton Park on loan.

And, seeing it from the view of Manchester City and the player, a return to the club on loan next year would provide him with the chance of regular first-team football and at his highest level yet; thus, a logical next step for him in his development.

In terms of what he can bring to this Portsmouth side, I don’t have to sing his praises as Portsmouth fans all too well what the midfield brings to the table, as an all-action, dynamic and intricate attacking midfielder with mesmeric technical ability befitting of the big stage, dazzling skill and trickery, and close control.

He will no doubt be persuaded by Australian team mate Kusini Yengi in coming back to Portsmouth this summer, and so the chance for Championship minutes under his belt with a club – and team mates – he knows first-hand seems like a bit of a no-brainer.

Left Winger #1 – Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (Crystal Palace – loan)

One player who I have included on this list that I imagine will be high up on the list of many in the Championship next season is Crystal Palace’s Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.

Rak-Sakyi has spent time out on loan before with Charlton Athletic, and aside from a really useful spell with The Addicks he has found breaking through into the first-team a challenge. As such, I think the best thing for him to do next year is to get off benches up and down the country and try to push for a loan that will “stretch and challenge”.

Portsmouth may not be able to keep hold of Abu Kamara – who returns to his parent club Norwich City – but I think that in many ways Rak-Sayi provides some of the same traits. He is quick, direct and carries the ball well, Rak-Sakyi is an agile and tricky customer who has more than shown he is above League Two.

With The Eagles upturn in fortunes and increased integration of youngsters, Rak-Sakyi may fancy his chances of pushing through into the first-team. But, if he does want to entertain the possibility of a loan deal, I think Portsmouth should be all over him and making a beeline for his signature during the close season.

Left Winger #2 – Jaidon Anthony (Leeds United – loan)

One player that Portsmouth could look at in the summer as an option to fill their left-wing berth is Leeds United’s Jaidon Anthony.

With Leeds United potentially being promoted to the Premier League, or at the very least looking to get promoted out of the division again next term, I think that Anthony may be one that is allowed to leave the club with his minutes this term having been few and far between to say the least.

Anthony has good experience of the division with Leeds United this term in and around their side pushing for the automatics, and was promoted with AFC Bournemouth to the top flight; as such, he provides Portsmouth with a ready made option that can slot right into their system and adjust to the second tier with as little need for adaptation.

The former Cherries man has roots on the South Coast, and so this may be a move that appeals to him. He is quick and direct, can play anywhere down the left-hand side, and I think he strikes a nice balance between still being youthful and with energy and legs, yet experienced for the league.

Forward – John McAtee (Luton Town – free)

The final player on this list is one that I am a huge fan of – but who will unlikely be subject to “sticking put”, is Luton Town’s John McAtee.

McAtee has spent the 2023-24 campaign with League One side Barnsley, and while he perhaps hasn’t hit the euphoric heights that we know he is more than capable of, the former Grimsby Town man has still been one of The Tykes’ key players and as such I wouldn’t be surprised to see teams come in for him.

While listed here as a “forward”, McAtee is certainly not restricted to just that role and in many ways is a complete striker, with his ability to run in behind, and a technical proficiency and swagger to sit in the half-spaces and pockets, get on the turn and cause problems for the opposition.

In terms of adding a versatile forward option, McAtee’s versatility to be able to play wide or centrally makes him an ideal addition, be it playing in behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1, out wide in a 4-3-3, or – by way of his loan with Barnsley this term – experience of being used as part of a 3-back system.

A decision has to be made this summer as to whether or not The Hatters stick with John McAtee as an immediate-term, fringes option, or whether they let him go and then strengthen. I think McAtee is a superb player and one who I feel Town should – and could – use next year in the Championship, but I have a feeling he may depart.