"Going on now" - Andy Cullen reveals how Portsmouth FC will make space for January signings | OneFootball

January is set to be a busy month at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth's chief executive Andy Cullen has admitted that the club will look to move some players on in January in order to make space for the new signings that they want to make.

The first month of 2025 could be a very pivotal one for Pompey's Championship future. Hopes are slightly higher now that they have Colby Bishop back, but they remain in the bottom three and are one of the leading contenders to be relegated this season.

There were some initial fears from fans that the activity of the club in the January transfer window wouldn't be enough after Eric Eisner made comments suggesting that they would rely on loan moves.

Their sporting director, Rich Hughes, later clarified the situation when he said that money will be available to buy players if they are deemed to be good long-term investments.

John Mousinho currently has 25 registered players. Under-21s like Harvey Blair and Abdoulaye Kamara don't count towards that total, but, in order to bring players in, there will need to be some balancing of the scales, according to Cullen.

Pompey chief makes January departures claim

The chief executive has said that Portsmouth will be seeking to get some of their lesser-used players out on loan in order to make space for additions in the winter window. Transfer targets have already been identified, according to Cullen, but he's admitted that it's going to be a difficult situation to manage.

"The dynamic we have to contend with is as much as we want to bring players in, and we will bring players in, we will need to look at opportunities for some of those players who are on the squad list to potentially get some playing time away from us on loan to make that space," said the chief exec, via The News.

"That’s why all those initial preparations are going on now. The problem you have is it’s very, very fluid.

"There are 10 games until we can bring someone in. We can’t bring a player in for that day (against Swansea on January 1) because they would need to be registered on December 31 to be eligible and you can’t sign someone until the window opens.

"So effectively the first opportunity we have is January 5 when we play Sunderland, and it’s the same for other clubs as well.

"So a lot can happen in terms of we know what we want to do at the moment, but we may get an injury in a key position which switches things. Likewise, we have players at the moment we’re targeting, but their situations can change over the next 10 games.

"So you’ve really got to keep on it and be extremely fluid in our thinking, in a way that is different in terms of dynamic to the summer.

"The ultimate aim is to come out stronger, as you try to do in every window but especially the past four windows when I’ve worked with Rich.

"We want to come out on February 2nd stronger than we were on January 1st. There’s a hell of a lot of work to do to get us in that position, but we’re up for it and we can achieve that objective."

The situations of current loanees Freddie Potts, Mark O'Mahony and Sammy Silvera will all be reviewed, according to The News.

Improving their efficiency in each box has to be Portsmouth's January goal

Pompey haven't been quite as poor as their record this season would suggest. They've had a lot of games that have just about been edged by the opposition, or they haven't taken advantage of their opportunities, and therefore haven't picked up as many points as their performances have deserved.

It may sound pretty simple, but keeping the ball out of their own net and putting it in the other one has been their biggest issue. Bishop's return after open-heart surgery in the summer should go some way to helping the attacking side of that equation, but more attacking options should certainly be looked at, as should players at the other end of the pitch.

Portsmouth currently have the worst defensive record in the league. Becoming more stable at the back will help them to pick up more and more points as the season goes on.