LATEST: Portsmouth chief delivers recruitment update as transfer work accelerates

Andy Cullen revealed Pompey’s recruitment charge remains firmly on course.

But the Blues chief acknowledged his club are moving into a more challenging transfer terrain, as they continue their summer player chase.

The deals are being announced across the EFL, despite the transfer window not opening for another two weeks.

Pompey are unlikely to tread the same path as other clubs, with their approach to wait until the window officially opens in previous years under Cullen.

That doesn’t mean the work isn’t being carried out behind the scenes, however, with it possible to put the deals in place before being confirmed after the shutters come up for business on June 14.

Cullen and John Mousinho have both expressed their desire to get players in before the squad head away for warm weather training, at the end of June.

That is a bigger challenge than last year, when 10 of the 14 deals were completed before the Blues flew to Spain.

Cullen reported positive progress, with everything currently on track when it came to bringing in the additions to make Pompey ready for the Championship.

He said: ‘Things are going well and we’re continuing to do the work required.

‘We have Rich (Hughes) in, Brad (Wall), myself and Tony Brown and we’re in constant discussions and constant talks with our targets, which is good news. We’re pushing on.

‘We’re obviously still at the end of the May and we’re conscious of last season. So we’d like to get as much done as we can early on, but it’s going to be a lot tougher in the recruitment market in the Championship than it is in League One. That’s a certainty.

‘But we’re very, very focussed on what our targets are and what our targets have always been. Now we’re hopeful that shortly we will see some positive news.’