Portsmouth boss reveals latest details of player hunt in recruitment update

The Blues boss has revealed the football operation has a list of ‘50 or 60’ names in each position at present, as the gruelling efforts of the recruitment team are laid bare.

And Mousinho has outlined the path forward for whittling down the players to those he believes can make a difference to his side.

The process of recruiting players is continuing with not just a view to landing players in the January window, but next summer and beyond.

Mousinho has intimated a winger could be on the agenda in the new year, while loans may also be an avenue explored.

There is still a lot of work to be carried out beyond the hours already invested on targets, as the 37-year-old explains how the process will develop from this point.

Mousinho said: ‘The work is really being put on on the recruitment side, with scouts and recruitment staff identifying targets.

‘For every position we will have long lists in place at the moments which will filter down into shortlists. Long is long! There are sometimes maybe not hundreds, but you might have 50 or 60 names on the list.

‘It depends on what stage you’re at. Maybe 20 qualifies as a shortlist, then you get a proper shortlist when you’re looking at four to six players. They are the ones you’d seriously go for, or you’d seriously think they’d fit into the way you want to play.

‘That doesn’t mean the rest of the 20 aren’t ones you want to go for, but you can maybe tick them off as not available, they go somewhere else or the contractual situation or whatever it is.

‘Then you get to the ones it’s realistic to bring in. That’s when you then start doing even more extensive work on them.’