Portsmouth FC's chances of signing ex-Birmingham City star revealed | OneFootball

Keshi Anderson is currently a free agent following his recent Blues release

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has issued his latest transfer admission with just under two weeks to go until the current window closes at 7PM on Monday, February 2nd.

It has been an extremely frustrating second campaign back in the Championship for the South Coast outfit, who were able to reconsolidate back in the division for the first time in 13 years last term.

Mousinho's side have struggled to drag themselves clear of relegation danger so far this season, with the 39-year-old overseeing a major injury crisis at Fratton Park at present.

Heading into the upcoming round of midweek fixtures in the second tier, the Blues are currently one place and one point ahead of Norwich City, who occupy the final relegation place.

Portsmouth were able to avenge their surprise home defeat to the division's crisis club, Sheffield Wednesday, earlier in the season with a narrow 1-0 success at Hillsborough, courtesy of Adrian Segecic's strike after 65 minutes.

As previously mentioned, Mousinho does not boast the largest of squads at present when it comes to availability, with the injury crisis hitting all departments of his squad, whilst it has also been well-documented that, whilst Pompey are one of several clubs in the division to boast previous Premier League history, their budget is incomparable to several divisional rivals.

As such, Mousinho has revealed that when he holds talks with the hierarchy at Fratton Park later in the week, following their trip to play-off chasing Watford on Wednesday night, they will discuss potential options in the free agent market, which now includes Keshi Anderson, who was released by fellow second tier club, Birmingham City, midway through last week.

Anderson had spent the past two-and-a-half years of his respectable career at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, enduring extremely mixed fortunes during said timeframe as the landscape of Blues, as a club, changed dramatically.

The 30-year-old was one of many new recruits brought to the West Midlands back in the summer of 2023 in what was Knighthead Capital Management's first transfer window as owners in B9 after their high-profile takeover from Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited (BSHL).

The aforementioned period also proved to be John Eustace's final window in charge before he was controversially dismissed in October 2023, with Anderson enduring a maiden campaign in the Second City that saw him managed by six permanent or interim bosses, as well as being a part of the first Blues squad to suffer relegation to League One for the first time in 30 years.

However, he became a firm favourite at St. Andrew's last season when his total of seven goals and five assists across 37 league appearances helped Chris Davies' side romp to the third tier title in record-breaking fashion.

But, following the arrivals of Demarai Gray, Lewis Koumas and Patrick Roberts, as well as injury issues, Anderson failed to break into the side on a regular basis, with the final of his 92 appearances for Birmingham coming in a 3-0 defeat at Watford on New Year's Day, before his contract was officially terminated by mutual consent last week, just over five months ahead of schedule.

With the former Blackpool man now looking for a fresh start, he was namedropped in Mousinho's latest transfer discourse.

"I guess there’s a couple of different free agent markets. One is where players have been out of contract for a while," he told local publication, the News.

"And then there are some players who may be available on frees in the next couple of weeks because of circumstances, yet have been with the football club and have played a lot of games. They've had a bit more time on the pitch.

"The free agent market isn't something we've been looking at - it’s not something I have been looking at - but that will change in the next couple of weeks," he added.

"Those who have been with football clubs are closer to fitness, it’s a lot more difficult for the ones that haven't been with a football club since July and August.

"Keshi Anderson is one which has only popped up recently, so hadn't been on the radar. One of the conversations we’re going to have this week is to look at free transfers which have popped up and probably surprised us a bit," Mousinho admitted.

" I didn’t think there would be many coming out of the Championship and we’ll look to see where that leaves everyone."

Keshi Anderson free transfer would make sense for Portsmouth

With 80 appearances at Championship level under his belt, a free transfer for Anderson could prove to be a shrewd move for Mousinho.

Indeed, the Pompey boss is currently short-staffed in the left-wing department at present, with Josh Murphy suffering a second long-term injury of the campaign in recent weeks, whilst Harvey Blair has also been sidelined after suffering a hip issue in the FA Cup defeat to Arsenal on January 11th.

Even on a short-term contract, this deal would make perfect sense for all parties, with Anderson not lacking in recent match fitness and sharpness, meaning he could be involved from the get-go should his services be acquired.