Portsmouth plotting Ipswich Town transfer raid in January window | OneFootball

Portsmouth may be top of the League One table, having only lost twice so far in the 2023-24 season, but head coach John Mousinho is still looking for fresh faces to add to his squad for the remaining four months of the campaign.

The Pompey squad is strong in many areas, yet in a couple of positions depth is lacking, such as up-front where just Colby Bishop and Kusini Yengi are fighting for a spot.

At the back meanwhile, ever-present summer signing Regan Poole succumbing to a season-ending knee injury in early November during an FA Cup clash with Chesterfield has left Mousinho needing another centre-back going into January.

Ipswich Town man wanted by Portsmouth in January

And it appears that Pompey's boss has a target in mind in particular, with reporter Chris Wise claiming that enquiries have already been made before the transfer window has already opened for Ipswich Town's George Edmundson.

It is not clear as to what kind of response Portsmouth have gotten from their asking of Edmundson's availability, but he is said to be just one of a number of defensive targets that Mousinho is looking at when it comes to bolstering his depth at the back.

Mousinho has Ryler Towler, Conor Shaughnessy and Sean Raggett at his disposal, but Poole's long absence means that cover and potentially an actual starting replacement is needed for the Welshman, and Edmundson clearly fits the bill for the club.

Edmundson signed for Ipswich from Scottish giants Rangers in 2021, with his move to Ibrox from Oldham Athletic two years prior not really working out for the defender.

Prior to his move to the then-League One Tractor Boys, Edmundson had spent a short time on loan at Derby County in the Championship, and in his first year at Portman Road he played 34 times in all competitions before an injury cut short his campaign early.

Ipswich's promotion-winning campaign in 2022-23 was more of a struggle for the 26-year-old, who played just 18 times in League One due to a lengthy ankle injury, which first flared up the previous season, and the current campaign hasn't been kind to Edmundson either.

He has played just three times in the Championship due to mainly being out of favour with head coach Kieran McKenna, with the partnership of Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess being preferred.

The arrival of Axel Tuanzebe has also pushed Edmundson down the pecking order, and he could be willing to depart Suffolk for more game-time in the second half of the season.

There is one issue that could scupper Pompey's need and desire for Edmundson though - Ipswich are set to lose a defender in the form of Burgess to the Asian Cup.

Burgess was capped by Australia for the first time earlier this year, and with the Asian Cup running from January 12 to February 10, Ipswich could lose the towering centre-back for an entire month.

That will mean with Tuanzebe's fitness issues being monitored, Edmundson will be needed for cover and perhaps starts for McKenna in that time period - that is unless McKenna manages to get his hands on a fresh signing for his defence next month.

Portsmouth