The Blues boss admitted he gets constant reminders of how good both midfielders are in training and would be shocked if neither of them attracted serious bidders between now and when the transfer window shuts at 11pm on Monday, February 3.
Both Lowery and Stevenson haven’t featured for the Blues since the Fratton Park outfit’s 25-man squad was submitted to the EFL in September. Neither made the list, which made them ineligible to play for the club until January at the earliest.
The duo’s Fratton fortunes haven’t changed this month, though, despite the Blues being able to adjust their squad numbers on a match-by-match basis during the current transfer window.
Their futures clearly lie elsewhere. But the problem remains – if no club wants to take a punt on them this month, then they’re likely to remain at PO4 until their contracts run out at the end of the season.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday night’s Championship game against Stoke, the Blues head coach said: ‘I think there’s been plenty of enquiries, so I’d be surprised if something doesn’t happen before the end of the transfer window. I think there’s a few bits that will go on between now and when the transfer window closes.
‘I think Ant (Anthony Scully) is going to be part of it, and Ben and Tom are players that we’re trying to find other clubs for, so if anywhere we can try and do that, then we’ll do it.
‘To be honest, we obviously know them internally, we’ve seen them, we know how good they are, we’ve seen them training day in, day out, so I’d be very, very surprised if they don’t get interest and they don’t get moves.’
Signed by Danny Cowley in the summer of 2022, Lowery was handed a three-year deal upon his Fratton Park arrival from Crewe.
The 27-year-old featured 21 times for the Blues during his first season af Fratton Park – but it was a term hampered by injury, something the unfortunate midfielder also experienced last season as Pompey secured the League One title.
Indeed, Lowery made just nine league appearances in 2023-24, while a 66-minute outing in the Carabao Cup against Millwall was all he was afforded this season before he missed out on the 25-man squad list.
Stevenson, meanwhile – who is also 27 – has been limited to just 12 outings in all competitions after arriving from Forest Green Rovers in 2023. Two of those came at the beginning of this term against Millwall and Luton respectively. Yet, like Lowery, he was soon deemed surplus to requirements following the summer arrivals of Abdoulaye Kamara, Freddie Potts and Andre Dozzell.
Both players will have dropped even further down the pecking order this month, following the loan arrival of Isaac Hayden from Newcastle United. And even though reports elsewhere claim West Ham are contemplating recalling Potts early from his Fratton Park loan, neither would be considered a viable replacement as the Blues battle against Championship relegation.
Pompey allowed Gavin Whyte to leave the south coast on the final day of the summer transfer window as it became clear he was no longer part of the club’s long-term future. The Blues could potentially do the same with Lowery and Stevenson this month – but that also looks unlikely as they enter the final six months of their existing deals.
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