'We are not used to spending £5m' - Portsmouth transfer reaction given | OneFootball

Portsmouth are spending big on the likes of Marko Milovanovic and Rocco Shein as the Eisner's up the ante.

Portsmouth have started their summer transfer window in a seemingly ambitious way as they try and push towards the top eight and the play-off places in the Championship.

Portsmouth gained promotion back to the second-tier by winning League One in the 2023-24 campaign, before steering themselves clear of relegation in successive seasons and now establishing themselves as a Championship club once again.

John Mousinho and Pompey supporters will be keen for simply surviving and existing in the Championship to be their main goal – and their aspirations appear to be higher than that if they can pull off the transfers that they are linked to.

It had been a quiet window up to now with Jordan Archer and Andre Dozzell leaving the club at the end of the contracts, the latter joining DC United – and the only incoming being that of Odin Bailey on a free transfer from Stockport County.

However, things are now coming to life at Fratton Park and that is encouraging news.

Portsmouth ambition is a positive thing

There had been some disgruntlement within the Portsmouth fanbase that the Eisner family and owner-chairman Michael Eisner was not committed enough to spending heavily for Pompey, despite his personal wealth.

However, with reports of big money moves for Marko Milovanovic, also known as Marezi, as well as Rocco Shein, FLW’s Portsmouth Fan Pundit Miltos Ioannidis believes things are now heading in the right direction for progression of the club.

Miltos said: “To be totally honest, when the news first broke about Marezi, everyone was a little bit sceptical.

“Initially because of the validity of the source where it came from: a Twitter account with 20-something followers and, then secondly, for the price tag mentioned.

“Here at Pompey, we are not used to spending £5.1 million or six million euros on players and a similar thing can be said for the Rocco Shein transfer that we seem to be close to completing and some of the other players that we have been linked with so far in the transfer window.

“We seem to be looking at players that are already contracted at clubs and would require a significant, for our standard, transfer fee in order to attain their services.

“So, with Marezi specifically, I think it is a great sign that the Eisner’s are willing to take the club forward and take the club to the next level from this particular point of view.

“The type of calibre of players that we are looking for, it is the type of conversation we have had in the past. If we want to progress as a football club then these are necessary steps that need to be taken.

“Stuff that John Mousinho has addressed in a very extensive extent. He called a press conference ahead of the Stoke game a couple of months ago where John Mousinho essentially went over everything to do with transfers and necessary steps for the future.

“I think that he delivered the message that the Eisner’s need to act in order for him to stay.

“Hopefully, that is a good indication for what the future holds for us. Seeing us linked initially with and now being close to the completion of players and transfers for £3 or £4 or £5 million.

“Just on Marko Milovanovic and Rocco Shein alone, we will have spent close to nine million euros to obtain their services which is already a significant increase on our total transfer kitty which was spent last season, which I believe was something close to £4 million, so let's see what else is under wraps and what the summer holds for us but so far so good.”

Portsmouth going big on Marezi and Rocco Shein

It has been reported that Almeria striker Marko Milovanovic is set to move to Fratton Park for a fee of £5.1 million, having spent last season on loan in Portugal’s top-flight at Alverca.

His nine-goal season for the mid-table outfit in Portugal’s top-flight is leading to a fairly big money sale from Almeria, something that the Andalusians have made a habit of with the relatively recent sales of Luis Suarez, Darwin Nunez, El Bilal Toure and Umar Sadiq.

Rocco Shein is reportedly set to move to Portsmouth for a fee of £2.1 million from Danish outfit Frederikstad. The 22-year-old Estonia international midfielder had been the subject of interest from Millwall, too.

As well as that, Pompey have been linked with former Bolton Wanderers target Jesper Ceesary, now of Antalyaspor, Hungarian midfielder Mate Tuboly, of DAC Dunajska Streda, and Swansea City's Josh Key, as exclusively revealed by Football League World.