John Mousinho Confirms Stance Over Portsmouth Midfielder’s Future Amid Loan Exit Question

Portsmouth teenager Reuben Swann will remain at Fratton Park this season, with head coach John Mousinho confirming the club has no plans to sanction another loan move for the midfielder.

The 19-year-old, recruited from non-league side Sudbury in 2024, spent the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Havant & Waterlooville to gain senior experience. Given his progress, many anticipated Swann would head out again for another developmental spell. However, Mousinho has made it clear that Pompey see greater value in keeping the youngster close to the first-team setup.

Speaking to The News, Mousinho outlined why Portsmouth believe training with the squad will be more beneficial than another loan.

“Reuben is training with us and he is fit, but we are not looking at a loan right now,” he explained. “What we want with Reuben is a really solid period of training with us.

“We could loan him out and then he’s probably stop-start playing for a side which maybe isn’t full-time, maybe it’s a hybrid part-time in terms of the training, so we want him here.”

Mousinho stressed the importance of daily exposure to a professional environment, adding that competitive minutes could still come later in the season if deemed necessary.

“At the minute we are not considering any loans, we’ll see how it goes in the next few weeks. We think training is going to be the best thing for him,” he said. “Training in a professional environment every single day is the best possible thing for Reuben and, when we think games are the right thing to do, we’ll then loan him out.”

Swann is regarded internally as one for the future and part of Portsmouth’s broader recruitment drive, which has increasingly combined domestic talent with overseas acquisitions since their rise to the Championship. With players arriving from Europe and Australia, the club has also looked to non-league football for potential gems—Swann being a prime example.

For now, though, Portsmouth are keeping him in-house, betting on the benefits of long-term development within the first-team environment.