Michael Smith has returned to Portsmouth on a permanent deal after signing from Swindon Town for an undisclosed fee.
The 24-year-old scored four goals in sixteen matches during his loan spell at Pompey and whilst he initially struggled to win the fans over, doing the donkey work up front on his own and knack of scoring some important goals soon had people changing their opinions of him. His physical presence was certainly missed during the play-offs.
Is Smith the man to bag Pompey over twenty goals this season? Probably not. However, his ability to hold the ball up may mean his team-mates in midfield get more opportunities to score and his willingness to defend from the front may well prevent a few goals going in at the other end, too.
Paul Cook has said that he is still looking for another striker and undoubtedly he will want to bring in a goalkeeper, too.
But this Pompey squad doesn't need too much surgery to mount a successful promotion challenge and the manager should get it right this summer.