Portsmouth's Ambitious Squad Build Under Richard Hughes

Portsmouth’s sporting director Richard Hughes believes the club now has a squad built to attack the Championship – but admits the summer window left some bruises behind the scenes.

The south-coast side brought in 12 new faces, backed by what Hughes had already described as a bigger budget than in previous years. Portsmouth pushed harder than before, with up-front fees for striker Marko Milovanovic and midfielder Rocco Shein surpassing the club’s entire transfer outlay from last summer.

That kind of spend signals intent. It also brought pressure.

"I'm pleased with a lot of the work that's taken place," Hughes told BBC Radio Solent, reflecting on a window that stretched recruitment teams across the division. He described it as “one of the more challenging” periods he has faced, a sentiment he said was “echoed across the market” as clubs fought to attract and keep Championship-level talent.

Some of the new signings have already started to justify the investment on the pitch, offering glimpses of a deeper, more flexible Portsmouth. For Hughes, the real judgement comes later.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing where the group plays out to be once they get a bit more comfortable with each other and have played a few more games,” he said. “Overall I'm really pleased with the work that we've done and the strength in depth that we've added to the group, I'm optimistic as to where we can go with this squad."

That optimism, though, sits alongside a clear sore spot: exits.

While Portsmouth were aggressive in their recruitment, they struggled to bring in transfer fees for players surplus to requirements. Andre Dozzell and Luke Le Roux both walked away from Fratton Park for nothing, with Le Roux leaving only a year after his arrival.

The Blues had paid £1m for the South Africa midfielder, who started the season in John Mousinho’s plans but slipped down the pecking order, ending the campaign with just 14 league appearances. By early September, the club announced they had reached a mutual agreement to terminate his contract.

Dozzell moved on earlier in the summer, signing for MLS side DC United. Le Roux, after his departure was confirmed this week, landed a fresh opportunity with Belgian top-flight club Cercle Brugge.

Those departures, and the lack of return on a seven-figure outlay, have drawn scrutiny. Hughes did not duck it.

"With Luke's situation everyone will be right to point criticism towards myself, John and the recruitment department," he admitted. "It's one we have to take and we have to wear that, it was something that didn't work on our part and it didn't work for Luke on the pitch.

"We wanted to find a permanent solution for him to leave and that didn't present itself, we'll take the learnings from this and make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Portsmouth now move forward with a bigger budget spent, a deeper squad assembled, and a clear reminder that getting players in is only half the job. The real verdict will come when this rebuilt group shows whether it can carry the club where Hughes believes it can go.