There hasn't been any activity in the transfer market from Portsmouth in over two weeks but that changed today, although it's a player leaving rather than joining the club.
Craig Westcarr has departed Pompey by mutual consent and has joined Mansfield Town. The news isn't too surprising as he and Paul Cook don't see eye-to-eye, with the manager putting him on the transfer list during his time at Chesterfield.
The 30-year-old only scored seven goals in 37 games for Portsmouth and he probably won't be missed by many Pompey fans. However, he wasn't utilised properly when he played and he clearly was one of the best techincal players in the squad. His "lazy" label from Walsall also stuck which wasn't entirely true as he did his fair share of running and was willing to play out of his favoured position for the team.
Get your money on him scoring against Pompey when they take on Mansfield this upcoming season, especially as he has an extra motive in proving his old manager wrong.
In other transfer news, Danny East has signed for Grimsby Town on a one-year-deal after being released by Paul Cook last month.
The current Portsmouth squad now contains just 15 senior players: Two goalkeepers, three defenders of which one is injured until October at earliest, eight midfielders and just two strikers. Fans are starting to get a little twitchy at how small the squad is and the supposed lack of transfer activity when it comes to players coming in. There's still plenty of time, however, and there should be some new faces arriving soon to bolster the squad with quality players.
Finally, it was incredibly sad to hear of the passing of PST chairman Ken Malley today after he suffered a stroke recently. My thoughts go out to all of his family at this difficult time.