Portsmouth: Jacob Farrell deal shows John Mousinho foresight as League One transfer confirmed: View | OneFootball

There has been a change in left-back options for Mousinho, and it could be seen as a positive upgrade

It has already been an eventful summer transfer window for those connected with Portsmouth in particular.

Following a long-awaited promotion back to the Championship as League One champions last season, the club now need to put together a squad that can compete in the second-tier.

As a result, there have been a number of new signings who have already made the move to Fratton Park since the transfer window opened in June.

In total, no fewer than five senior players have been added to the squad available to John Mousinho.

The latest of those to make the move to Portsmouth this summer, is Jacob Farrell, who has signed on a permanent deal from Central Coast Mariners in his native Australia.

Jacob Farrell was initially a surprising signing for Portsmouth

Having previously spent the whole of his career with his now former club in the A-League, Farrell has moved to Fratton Park for an undisclosed fee.

The left-back has put pen to paper on a four-year deal with the club, that will secure his future there until the end of the 2027/28 season.

With the signing of Farrell, Portsmouth have further added to the Australian influence on their side.

They already had one Australian international on their books in the form of striker Kusini Yengi, while another, Sammy Silvera, is set to spent this season on loan with the club from Middlesbrough - Alex Robertson is a Socceroos international and was on loan last season on the south coast, and he is a player that Mousinho would love to have back this summer.

Currently, they have a hat-trick of players from down under in their squad with the addition of Farrell as well, although this may not have initially seemed like a signing that was needed.

With Connor Ogilvie and Jack Sparkes having both been on the books at Fratton Park at the time of the Australian's arrival, that had seemingly left Mousinho with three left-back options to choose from.

That may not have seemed necessary, given the pressure there would be on Mousinho to keep three players happy with game time while competing for just a single starting position.

Indeed, Portsmouth will not have wanted to reduce the space in the squad and budget, to an extent that prevented them from having the depth they need in other areas of the pitch as well.

But with the business that has been done since the arrival of Farrell, that move to bring him to Pompey, now looks to make more sense.

Jack Sparkes, Peterborough United deal shows John Mousinho foresight with Jacob Farrell

On Friday, it was announced that Sparkes himself has now completed a move away from Fratton Park.

The 23-year-old has returned to League One, signing for Peterborough United, where he looks set to be a replacement for another left-back, Harrison Burrows, who has joined Sheffield United - Posh had already landed Crewe Alexandra talent Rio Adebisi, but not only is he out for four months with an injury, he can also play at right-back too.

Sparkes had only joined Portsmouth from Exeter City last summer, but moving him on now with Farrell taking his place, could arguably be sensible, and it shows that Mousinho had the foresight to replace Farrell well before his exit was confirmed.

With 90 senior appearances under his belt during his time with Central Coast Mariners, the Australian looks as though he is ready to compete with Ogilvie for a place in the Pompey starting 11.

Even so, at 21-years-old, he is two years younger than Sparkes, meaning he may now turn out to be a longer-term asset than his predecessor for the Fratton Park club.

It is also worth noting that Sparkes himself had only signed an initial two-year contract when he moved to Portsmouth last summer.

As a result, this may have been their last chance to recoup a fee for him, something they have now done with his sale to Peterborough.

That has also ensured they will already have made back at least a portion of what they invested in Farrell, thus meaning they should still have funds to invest in other deals this summer.

With the Australian's contract also much longer than Sparkes' was, that now means they do have more extended security in terms of their options at left-back too.

So with all that in mind, it seems what initially looked like something of a surprising deal for Portsmouth, has quickly turned into a rather sensible one for John Mousinho's side.