Blues boss preparing for transfer sacrifices

DANNY COWLEY admitted he will have to make sacrifices to get the quality of player he wants over the remainder of the window.

And that is expected to lead to the Pompey boss redistributing the remainder of his playing budget this month, to different areas of the pitch from where it’s been used so far this term.

Pompey have so far seen five players depart in January, with Cowley admitting he’s been surprised at the rate at which space has been freed up in his wage bill.

Alex Bass’ probable loan exit with a young replacement arriving will create a little more manoeuvrability.

With defender Hayden Carter and striker Tyler Walker coming in on loan, it means Pompey are still two lighter in attackers and one down in terms of midfielders from the start of the month.

Cowley is known to be in the market for a left wingback, with Sunderland’s Denver Hume and Wigan’s Tom Pearce being linked.

The Pompey boss realises though, he isn’t going to be able to cover all bases as he would like this month.

Cowley said: ‘We probably know we can’t get the perfect balance, we probably can’t achieve that this window.

‘But we can definitely improve where we’re at.

‘We’re probably going to have to make a sacrifice somewhere, it’s fair to say that. We just have to decide where. That probably depends on finance and availability.

‘It’s on availability really. In an ideal world there are three areas we’d like to strengthen.

‘We’re clear on what we’d like to bring in – crystal clear. Whether we can or not, time will tell.

‘We’re trying to get balance and competition in all the places, that’s what we’d like.’