[themaclad]

Portsmouth have signed defender Josh Knight from German club Hannover 96 for an undisclosed fee.

Knight, 27, joins Pompey on a three-year deal, having played in the second tier of German football last season, scoring three times in 23 games.

The Leicester City academy product also spent three years at Peterborough, with whom he lifted the EFL Trophy in 2024, beating his former loan club Wycombe.

Head coach John Mousinho said Knight was a player Portsmouth "had been tracking for a long time".

"I remember him being absolutely outstanding for Peterborough in the season we won promotion from League One in 2024 and I felt they were unlucky not to go up with us," Mousinho told Pompey's website., external

"He was a shining light and really caught our eye, earning a deserved move to Germany off the back of his performances.

"We're bringing in a player who possesses plenty of experience – including at Championship level – and has a lot of the qualities that we look for in a centre-half."

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Portsmouth have signed goalkeeper Josef Bursik from Club Brugge and 21-year-old striker Makenzie Kirk from St Johnstone for undisclosed fees.

The Blues have also sealed a permanent deal for Crystal Palace academy winger Franco Umeh.

Bursik, 25, has agreed a two-year-deal at Fratton Park, having made 53 appearances for Stoke City in the Championship before moving to Belgium in 2023.

He has previously played for England at Under-21 level and had EFL loan spells at Accrington, Doncaster, Peterborough and Lincoln. He spent last season on loan at Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership but failed to make an appearance.

Blues boss John Mousinho said: "He's someone who showed a lot of promise as a youngster and has played plenty of Championship games.

"Josef really bolsters the options we've got in the goalkeeping department and is a target that's been in our sights for a while now, so we're delighted to get the deal done."

Northern Ireland under-21 international Kirk has signed a three-year contract.

He came through the Hearts academy and also played for Hamilton's youth sides. During his time at St Johnstone he scored 14 goals in 50 appearances.

Mousinho said: "We're bringing in a player who's an incredibly exciting young prospect and has already featured in plenty of first team games up in Scotland.

"As well as being one for the future, we believe he's someone who can have a positive impact on the side right now.

"We're very excited to have Makenzie in our squad. I'm looking forward to working with him and watching him continue to develop."

Makenzie Kirk has been capped three times for Northern Ireland Under-21

Umeh joined Palace from League of Ireland side Cork City in 2023 and made 37 appearances for the Eagles' under-21 team.

He has signed a four-year deal at Fratton Park for an undisclosed fee.

Mousinho said: "Franco was one of the outstanding players in Premier League 2 last season.

"He was very highly rated in what is a talented Crystal Palace side and has also been around their first team, training with them and being on the bench.

"He's one who we've been tracking for just over a year now and brings a lot of pace and athleticism to our front line.

[themaclad]

Portsmouth have sealed the loan return of Conor Chaplin to Fratton Park in one of the stories of transfer deadline day across the EFL.

Ipswich forward Chaplin first joined Portsmouth at the age of six, signing his first professional deal with the club in 2014 and scoring 25 goals in 122 appearances before joining Coventry City in 2018.

The 28-year-old moved to Barnsley in 2019 and Ipswich in 2021, top-scoring in League One in 2021-22 and helping The Tractor Boys win consecutive promotions before featuring in their Premier League campaign in 2024-25.

"This is a deal I know everyone's going to be excited about and we're grateful to Ipswich," said Mousinho, calling Chaplin a "proven Championship goalscorer".

"With the fact that he's at the prime of his career – along with the history he has here – it's a brilliant signing for us."



Bursik has agreed a two-year-deal at Fratton Park, having made 53 appearances for Stoke City in the Championship before moving to Belgium in 2023.

The 25-year-old played for England at under-21 level and had EFL loan spells at Accrington, Doncaster, Peterborough and Lincoln.

Stoke loaned Bursik to Scottish Premiership club Hibernian last season but he failed to make an appearance.

"He's someone who showed a lot of promise as a youngster and has played plenty of Championship games," Mousinho added.

"Josef really bolsters the options we've got in the goalkeeping department and is a target that's been in our sights for a while now, so we're delighted to get the deal done."

Northern Ireland under-21 international Kirk has signed a three-year contract.

The 21-year-old came through the Hearts academy and played for Hamilton's youth sides. During his time at St Johnstone, he scored 14 goals in 50 appearances.

Mousinho said: "We're bringing in a player who's an incredibly exciting young prospect and has already featured in plenty of first team games up in Scotland.

"As well as being one for the future, we believe he's someone who can have a positive impact on the side right now.

"We're very excited to have Makenzie in our squad. I'm looking forward to working with him and watching him continue to develop."


Umeh, who joined Palace from League of Ireland side Cork City in 2023 and made 37 appearances for the Eagles' under-21 team, has signed a four-year deal at Fratton Park for an undisclosed fee.

Mousinho said: "Franco was one of the outstanding players in Premier League 2 last season.

"He was very highly rated in what is a talented Crystal Palace side and has also been around their first team, training with them and being on the bench.

"He's one who we've been tracking for just over a year now and brings a lot of pace and athleticism to our front line."

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Portsmouth winger Josh Murphy has signed a new contract which will keep him at Fratton Park until the summer of 2028.

The 30-year-old joined Pompey on a free transfer in June 2024 after leaving Oxford United and established himself as a first-team regular.

Last season Murphy made 42 appearances in the Championship for Portsmouth in the 2024-25 season, scoring seven goals and delivering 14 assists.

Murphy, who had been linked with a summer move to Leicester City, said he is on a "good journey" with Pompey and enjoys playing under boss John Mousinho.

"I'm so settled down here and enjoy playing alongside the rest of the boys under this head coach, who puts a lot of faith in me to deliver," he told Portsmouth's website., external

"Everything just fits into place and we're all moving in the right direction, so that's why I wanted to sign a new deal."

Mousinho said the winger, who has missed Pompey's last three games because of an ankle injury, is "someone we value so highly" and is a "massive part of what we want to achieve at Pompey".

"He had an amazing first season here at Pompey and played such a key role in ensuring we maintained the Championship status we worked so hard to achieve," Mousinho said.

"The number of goals and assists Josh contributed speaks for itself and I wouldn't swap him for any other winger in the division."

Analysis - from BBC Radio Solent's Andrew Moon
New contracts don't come more deserved than this one. Murphy had two years remaining on his existing deal and potentially a third via a club option, the fact this move has been made shows just how key he is to Pompey. Something only underlined when he's missed matches this season.

Murphy is one of the best players in the Championship and Pompey's key man. Defenders just cannot deal with him one-on-one, he scores, he assists and he gets fans off their feet.

There was speculation linking him with a move away at the end of the summer transfer window, however it's understood no club made a concerted effort to sign him and certainly no one showed any inclination to pay what would be required to prise him away.

20 years ago, Championship promotion hunters and even perhaps Premier League clubs would have been chasing him.

It seems now clubs don't want to pay money for a 30 year-old even though he would make virtually every starting XI in this division better.