John Mousinho has watched Crystal Palace’s array of young talent closely - and he sees more deals like the capture of Franco Umeh happening at Fratton Park.
John Mousinho is adamant Franco Umeh is ready to impact Pompey first-team picture as he welcomed the additional firepower to his ranks.
And the Blues boss has indicated going down the route of paying fees for similar emerging talent as the Crystal Palace starlet is a route the club are now likely to travel.
Crystal Palace ace ‘ready’ for Pompey first team
The Pompey boss feels the array of top-flight quality Palace possess has presented an opportunity to land an exciting talent right for his club.
And Mousinho is welcoming a player to his group who can make senior breakthrough right now.
He said: ‘Franco’s ready for the first team, He’s not 100 per cent fit at the moment, but there’s nothing to worry about there.
‘Everyone seems to spot me down Gander Green Lane for some reason, but it’s quite a good one to get to and Palace have a very strong under-21 side! Last year we watched some really good talent on multiple occasions.
‘The first time I went to see Franco it was at West Ham’s training ground, we’ve watched him a few times since then.
‘He definitely fits the profile of the type of player we wanted to bring into those attacking positions. He’s had a very promising career with Palace’s under-21s and been on the fringes of the first team a number of times.
‘He’s not quite managed to break into the first team because we can see how competitive Palace have been at the top end of the Premier League, winning the FA Cup and being in Europe.
‘It’s a really good opportunity for Franco to come and play here - and we’re really excited to have him and a player of his level.’
Pompey casting out net to pay fees for emerging talent
A loan move was originally touted for Umeh before his capture on the last day of summer trading was completed on a permanent basis.
Meanwhile teen hope Brandon Downey joins from Northern Ireland side Crusaders, with the 16-year-old already training with the senior group.
Mousinho suggested such deals are likely to be a way Pompey continue to look add young talent to their ranks.
He added: ‘When you have players here as permanents you can probably look to be more patient with them and develop them. There’s no pressure from the parent club, it’s just a much better deal for the player and much better deal for the football club as well.
‘We can start to develop players longer term as well. Then if they good successful we reap the rewards of that.’
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