Portsmouth chief promises to end 'over-reliance' on expensive loan players - and a fresh focus on permanent recruits

But the sporting director insists the Blues will not withdraw completely from the loan market.

According to club accounts released last week, Pompey’s spending on loanees increased by a staggering £738,000 for the year ending June 30, 2022.

A consequence of Danny Cowley’s favoured approach, those temporary signings included Tyler Walker, Miguel Azeez, Gavin Bazunu, George Hirst, Hayden Carter, Mahlon Romeo and Gassan Ahadme.

Loan costs are expected to increase even more this season, with a number of high-profile arrivals.

However, Hughes has made it clear that he and Pompey’s recruitment will now be focusing on permanent signings.

Hughes told The News: ‘Never fall in love with a loan player, that’s one of the wisest things I’ve been told in football. It creates a hole in the team, then you’re looking to replace them, which can be one of the tough things.

‘The biggest issue is they walk out the door at the end of the season. This summer alone we will probably have five loan players that will walk out the door and we’ll be looking for replacements, whether those are internal or external.

‘It creates an extra pressure on recruitment. We want to be in a scenario where we’re not having a huge turnover of players every year, but sometimes, if you’re overly reliant on loans, that can be a natural byproduct of that.

‘The amount spent on loans is an issue. We want to get away from spending a lot of money on loan players – and finding a way to make it a more financially viable part of the set-up.

‘There have also been lots of good loan players here and