Sheffield Wednesday receive new transfer blow despite £3m development | OneFootball

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho is keen to keep Colby Bishop at Fratton Park this summer

Portsmouth have strengthened their forward options this summer with the £3 million arrival of Marko Milovanovic, which could put Colby Bishop's position under threat.

Pompey have needed some reinforcements at the top end of the pitch this summer, following a campaign which saw them net 49 times in league action. Crucially, only three of those goals came from Bishop.

The 29-year-old endured a difficult second season at Championship level, after netting 11 in his debut campaign. He underperformed his expected goals by six, and was the main culprit of a misfiring Portsmouth frontline.

Therefore, Milovanovic's arrival has potentially put Bishop's place in the side at risk. The former Almeria striker netted nine times in just over 1,500 minutes of action in the Portuguese top flight last season while on loan at FC Alverca, and is a clear investment at Fratton Park.

Last month, it was revealed that Sheffield Wednesday were interested in bringing Bishop back to League One as they looked to rebuild and attack the third tier under their new Arise ownership.

With double-digit scoring campaigns in each of the four seasons he's spent in League One, including 20- and 21-goal-seasons in Portsmouth colours, he'd be seen as a coup at Hillsborough, even despite his down year last term.

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Those links between Sheffield Wednesday and Bishop have died down over the past month, and the Owls have since strengthened their forward line with the loan addition of Harry Gray.

But there's no doubt that a more experienced third-tier frontman will still be on the shopping list, and Bishop would tick all the boxes for what Henrik Pedersen will want in that striker this summer.

Unfortunately for them, according to the News, Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho is convinced that the 29-year-old will be staying put for what will be his fifth season at Fratton Park.

"There is absolutely no change in terms of Colby's position. There has been no interest in him. We are keeping him," he said.

"We still want him firing on all cylinders; we want players to compete in every position. I have spoken to Colby about this one over the past couple of weeks, and he is relishing the competition.

"Colby and I spoke about it at the back end of last season, about bringing another centre-forward in to bolster the ranks and running with three that we think can compete at the level.

"First of all, physically trying to do it for 90 minutes every week against some of the centre-halves for 46 games is really difficult. Colby is running on empty a lot of the time, and we want to give him support."

A lot of the time last season, Mousinho was relying on Bishop to start most weeks, even despite his poor run of form in front of goal, due to the lack of strength in depth in the striker position.

Jacob Brown provided some support in the second half of the year during his loan spell from Luton Town, but before then, Thomas Waddingham and Makenzie Kirk, two young, unproven frontmen, were the only real recognised strikers in reserve, making it difficult for the Pompey boss to give Bishop a much-needed rest.

Now, with a quality striker through the door, Portsmouth have some strong options off the bench, and Mousinho can afford to take one of his strikers out of the firing line if they're enduring a rough patch of form.

Sheffield Wednesday will have plenty of other options to choose from at Colby Bishop door closes

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Mousinho outlined that there was "no interest" in Bishop. That, paired with the fact that Sheffield Wednesday's interest in the 29-year-old was reported last month, could indicate that the Owls are already looking at other options up front.

Henrik Pedersen's side have been the busiest EFL club in the transfer window thus far, with nine new players through the door, and a lot more still expected to come.

Tommi O'Reilly could be next, which FLW exclusively broke last week, who will help strengthen their wide attacking options. It should only be a matter of time, though, before a new centre forward is brought in.

Pedersen has stated that he feels his side still needs a nine to complement what is a very young striker pack, outside of Jamal Lowe.

That may not end up being Bishop, but with under two weeks until Sheffield Wednesday get their campaign underway in the EFL Cup against Bolton Wanderers, there'll be some hope that a new frontman can be through the doors by then.