Portsmouth sporting director Richard Hughes already planning for January transfer window
- Published
Richard Hughes (right) was appointed Portsmouth sporting director in October 2022
Portsmouth sporting director Richard Hughes says the club are "really pleased" with their summer transfer window business and are already planning for January 2024.
The League One side had a busy few months revamping John Mousinho's squad, adding 14 players while moving 13 on.
"The transfer window has been really pleasing," Hughes told BBC Radio Solent.
"A lot of hard work goes into it from a lot of people to get players on board."
He added: "It's also a lot of work for the coaching staff having such a high volume of new players coming in."
Portsmouth got the ball rolling early and signed their first players of the summer - goalkeeper Will Norris, defender Conor Shaughnessy and forward Christian Saydee - in mid-June.
They would add another two players before the week was over and Mousinho said at the time they "had not missed" many of their top targets.
"We were able to get our business done early because of our clear alignment across the club," Hughes said.
"We had a very early conversation with the owners around the budget, which was brilliant, and that gave us clarity of the framework to work within.
"John [Mousinho] has been pretty steadfast in terms of playing a back four - whether that be a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 - which gives us a clearer picture of the types of bodies he wants in the building and what they look like - that helped focus our efforts."
'Not the finished article'
Portsmouth signed three loan players this summer - midfielder Tino Anjorin from Chelsea (left), forward Abu Kamara from Norwich City (centre) and midfielder Alex Robertson from Manchester City (right)
Pompey were motivated to get signings done early so new players could join the squad in time for their pre-season training camp in Spain.
Hughes says an important part of the Blues' transfer window business was bringing in talent with the ability to hit the ground running.
"We didn't want to be rehashing players that were dropping down," the former Forest Green Rovers director said.
"We have brought in players who can affect the here and now, as well as the future.
"We've stepped into the loan players - Alex Robertson from Manchester City, Abu Kamara from Norwich and Tino Anjorin from Chelsea - quite well in terms of bringing in quality that would be difficult for us to achieve in other circumstances.
"So I'm really pleased with the balance of the group and really pleased with the work that we have done.
"The most important thing to say is, we know it is not the finished article but we do think that the group is in a better position and a stronger position that it was at the end of last season."
Dedicated scouts 'the wheels' to successful recruitment
Portsmouth are fifth in League One after six games with three wins and three draws, and their transfer window strategy of getting players in early to gel before the season started is paying dividends.
There is no time for unbeaten Pompey to rest on their laurels though, with Hughes and the club's scouts already looking to the January transfer window.
"Between me and head of recruitment Phil Boardman it is our job to be working toward the next window as soon as one closes," said Hughes.
"We prepare by trying to cover as many bases as possible. We start looking ahead to next summer first, who is out of contract, who might need replacing, which loan players are returning.
"We are always trying to be proactive and on top of the situation so that we are ready for January, opposed to us being dictated to.
"Constant re-evaluation to get better at what we do is made easier by our really good group of scouts who work hard behind the scenes and don't get enough credit.
"They are a big part of the work that goes on here and they start the whole process - they are the wheels that keep everything going."
