Following what was a successful season for Portsmouth, in which John Mousinho steered his side to a 16th place finish, ten players permanently left PO4 in the Summer of 2025. How though, have they done since leaving the South coast to pursue the next stages of their footballing journeys?
The Northern-Irishman swapped Portsmouth for Reading in a deal reportedly worth around £250,000. Having played 84 games for Pompey and starring in the Blues’ 2023/24 League One title triumph he became somewhat of a fan favourite on the South coast but could never truly break his way into Portsmouth’s Championship side last season.
Since joining the League One outfit, the 25 year old has endured an inconsistent campaign that has mainly been defined by his two month spell on the sideline with a tendon injury at the start of the season.
Lane has only amassed two goals and one assist in 31 appearances at the Madejski but despite the low number of goal involvements, recent performances have shown more promise. Reading’s last-gasp 2-1 win against Bradford City at the end of February led former Lane’s Reading teammate Matt Ritchie to label him as “the heartbeat” of the dressing room.
His move away has undoubtedly been difficult, but Lane has shown glimpses of promise throughout which Reading will be hoping can be found more consistently as they look to secure a play-off place come the end of the season.
The Australian striker quickly became a cult-hero at Portsmouth, scoring a last minute equaliser on his league debut before racking up 13 goals in his debut season in English football, including a goal in the title winning thriller against Barnsley.
In the Championship though, Yengi struggled with both performances and a horrendous injury record which kept him out for months at a time and culminated in him only making six appearances in his last season for the Blues, scoring no goals.
Unfortunately, since leaving Portsmouth this bad luck has very much carried over. The 27 year old is already playing for his second club of the season after making the move from Portsmouth to Scotland to sign for Aberdeen in the Summer.
Yengi only played 10 games for the Scottish side (scoring one goal) before he was on the move again, this time to Cerezo Osaka in Japan.
Already though, his move has been hit with this same misfortune. After only making four appearances for the J1 league outfit in which he scored no goals, he tore his thigh muscle in early March, leaving him sidelined ever since.
For someone so well loved on the South Coast, Yengi’s career since leaving has been sad to see and Pompey fans will definitely be hoping he can pick up the incredible form he hit in the 2023/24 campaign once again.
Bramall joined Portsmouth on deadline day of the 2025 January transfer window and was therefore, only on the South Coast for a matter of a few months. Despite his short tenure, the 29 year old did show definite glimpses of promise and was someone John Mousinho should have looked to extend the contract of come the end of his six-month-deal.
Since leaving, Bramall was picked up by Luton Town in League One and has quickly established himself as a key player in their squad regardless of what has been a disappointing season for the Hatters who now find themselves 11th.
Bramall has scored three goals this season, all of which have come directly from free-kicks with his goal against Port Vale being the pick of the bunch.
Aside from goals he has become a consistent performer at this level, well regarded for his blistering pace and crossing ability.
The Gosport-born Portsmouth favourite was imperative in the club’s survival last season which made the announcement that Ritchie would be leaving PO4 that much more shocking. The Portsmouth-academy graduate played 41 games for the Blues, scoring five times including a brace against Middlesbrough in what was a shock result at Fratton Park.
Ritchie left for Reading in the Summer as part of a mutual agreement to terminate his Portsmouth contract only a year after re-signing in the first place.
He has gone on to score once and rack up six assists in 24 appearances and at the age of 36 looks to still have every bit of quality remaining that he possessed playing for Newcastle and Bournemouth in the Premier league.
Reading sit in eighth place in League one and Matt Ritchie will undoubtedly have a big part to play as they fight to gain a play-off spot.
Tom Lowery’s time at Portsmouth lasted three years, but despite what was a long period of time under contract these years were unfortunately devastated by injury which led him to only make 31 appearances for the club in his tenure.
Lowery left Portsmouth in the Summer on a free transfer after he was released by the club, joining Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership.
Lowery has, once again, struggled with injury and he has only made 15 appearances to date with the Scottish outfit who currently sit 11th in the SPFL.
Anthony Scully was bought by Portsmouth from Wigan in 2023 having impressed previously for Lincoln City. The Irish-man undoubtedly struggled during his time on the South coast though and was loaned out to Colchester United last season before Portsmouth decided not to extend his contract at the club.
Scully left Portsmouth and joined former Pompey boss Michael Appleton’s Shrewsbury town, having only played nine times for the Blues in his two year stay.
Since leaving though, Scully has transformed his fortunes and after overcoming early injury issues, has gone on to score five goals and get two assists for a Shrewsbury town side now managed by Gavin Cowan.
Kamara arrived with big expectations having joined from Borussia Dortmund II for a fee in the region of £1.5 million, he would fail to reach these heights though and left just a year after joining the club.
Kamara made six appearances on the South Coast without any goal involvements.
The former PSG academy graduate has since gone on to join Saarbrucken in the German third division where he has only played 13 games, scoring once and enduring a season marred by injuries.
Towler has had the most successful move from Portsmouth out of all of their summer departures by far and now finds himself at the top of League one with Lincoln City, who could well be replacing Portsmouth in the Championship next season.
The former Bristol City centre-back was another favourite at Pompey and found himself in and out of Portsmouth’s Championship side last season which may well have prompted his desire to move on for more game time.
Whilst not starting every game for Lincoln, Towler has still amassed 41 appearances for the Imps this term and has looked top be a very solid and promising addition to their ranks.
At the age of 23, Towler will look to be, in the eyes of many Pompey fans a player the club may regret selling and someone with the correct mix of attitude and technical ability to become a top football league player.
Saydee became yet another Portsmouth favourite in his short stint on the South coast, building a great relationship with the fans and scoring some crucial goals both in the race for league one promotion and Championship survival.
The Bournemouth academy product played 73 times for Portsmouth, scoring seven and assisting three before leaving for Wigan for a fee in the region of £350,000.
Like Ryley Towler, Saydee is only 23 and therefore another play with bags of potential. So far this season he’s scored two goals and registered five assists in what has been a disappointing campaign for the Tics who sit in 19th place in League One, just three points above the relegation zone.
The 34 year old signed for Portsmouth in March of 2025 after previously being released by Swedish giants AIK. Milosevic failed to make a single appearance for Portsmouth after struggling with fitness issues.
Milosevic has since ended a hugely successful career, announcing his retirement in January 2026 having failed to find a club since his release from Portsmouth months prior.
Overall, the players who left in the Summer of 2025 have not had the best of seasons individually by any means, and in many cases, they have made it visible that the decisions made by the board had good reason to be made.
Their lack of success away from Fratton Park does however, also appear to show the fragilities of Portsmouth’s transfer business. Whereby, players signed are often punts who are quickly let go by the club for no fee whatsoever.
On top of this, the common theme with the majority of these players is their devastating injury records which both hampered their careers at Portsmouth and continue to do so away from PO4. This, yet another example of the repercussions of the Blues’ risky transfer method of buying cheap, often injury prone players repeatedly.
Portsmouth are in the midst of another relegation dog-fight, now preparing for a crucial clash against in-form Norwich at Carrow Road next month.
