Portsmouth are still considering deals for a host of Swansea attackers - but would only be able to seal loan deals for the trio, as reported by The News.

Pompey pushed towards the top end of the League One table last season but couldn't quite do enough to get into the play-off places at the end of the campaign.

Now, Danny Cowley is ready to refresh his squad and try and get into those top six places next season. Before he can even think about a potential promotion tilt though, he will need to add a few more bodies - and namely some strikers - to the club.

Right now, Portsmouth would struggle to find forward options in their squad, with the future of a few players in attack not clear yet. Aiden O'Brien might end up departing the side this summer, with his future not yet tied up and Ronan Curtis has also been linked with a switch to Scotland and to Hibs.

If both of those were to exit Fratton Park, there wouldn't be many forwards in their team at all. The club then need to make sure they have plenty of attacking options in their side before they can even think about the next campaign and Liam Cullen, Morgan Whittaker and Kyle Joseph are all on their target list.

Cullen is experienced at third tier level and played 20 times for Lincoln last season with one goal, so could be an appealing option for Portsmouth. Whittaker did the same but produced slightly more in terms of bagging goals, with five goals and one assist in 20 games.

As for Joseph, he's bagged goals in the past for both Wigan and Cheltenham. All three of them then could be tempting options for Portsmouth but, even with their striker predicament, they would be unable to sign them permanently. Instead, it looks like they will have to settle for short-term deals - and it will have to do, as they look to bring some striking options into the club.

The Verdict

Any of those three Swansea options would be a good move for Portsmouth, regardless of whether they are on loan for the season or are permanent deals.

Beggars cannot be choosers with Pompey right now anyway. They really don't have a lot of options up front and things could get even worse soon if they let go of their remaining attackers. It means they are really short in that area of the field and need to do some serious recruitment for forwards this summer.

It wouldn't be a bad thing to sign all three from the Welsh outfit if they could. The best option would likely be Joseph considering his age and prior experience of bagging goals in League One, so if they could only plump for one then he could be the most attractive based on his numbers.

They cannot let the fact they are potentially only able to do short-term deals put them off though - and then once a deal for any or all of these three are wrapped up, they need to continue making moves.