Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley has admitted to Hampshire Live that the club needs to sell players before they can get any new ones in. 

The South Coast side are currently sat just outside the Sky Bet League One play-off places and still have some games in hand to make up on their rivals following recent postponements.

Cowley and his staff are said to be in the market for a new centre back and a striker this month as they seek to close the gap on their promotion rivals heading further into 2022.

Now the Portsmouth boss has admitted that bringing in some new faces to Fratton Park may not be as simple as first meets the eye:

"We know what we want to do. We are really focussed on what we want to do, but we have probably got to try to move players out to get players in. That is just the reality."

The manager's comments follow a summer in which Pompey were limited to signing players on loan and bringing in free agents after they were financially impacted by the global pandemic.

The challenge now will be to move on some of the players that don't necessarily have a future with the third tier side in the long run.

The Verdict 

It'll certainly be interesting to see which players do indeed leave Fratton Park over the coming weeks as there are a lot within the Pompey ranks that are due to see their contracts expire at the end of the season.

Therefore it is imperative that the club gets at least some sort of deal in place if these individuals do choose to move on.

The departures of the unwanted players should allow the club to strengthen in two key areas, so it will be intriguing to see what profile of individual Cowley is looking for.

Loans may well be attractive but at the same time the club will surely be open to bringing in permanent players who can help them tom progress past the current campaign.