Portsmouth CEO Andy Cullen insisted the EFL Championship club are not required to sell players as he insisted Pompey will only cash in when it is the “right deal” amid speculation over Adrian Segecic’s future.
Segecic has reportedly been linked with Premier League teams, as well as fellow Championship clubs and with offers from the continent, following an impressive first season at Portsmouth, where the Australian-born Croatia international scored 10 goals and supplied six assists for Pompey in 2025-26.
The 21-year-old had eight goal involvements from the final six games of the season, while he was also named the Championship’s Player of the Month for April.
“There is no requirement for us to sell any player in the team,” Cullen told The News.
‘We’ll only sell when we consider it’s the right deal for the football club. That was the case in the way negotiations went with Callum Lang in January.
“It’s documented we had interest in Terry (Devlin), which was of no interest to us at all. We had interest in other players, which was of no interest to us.
“So first and foremost, any deal we do has to be the right deal for the football club, and it has to be in a way that if we lose a player we can improve in that position as well.
“We want to continue to trade. It’s the best period since I’ve been at the club (in terms of assets) so there will be speculation about certain players who hold high value. I’m not going to comment on individuals, but the fact is we’ll do it when it’s right.
“We’re trying to identify as best we possibly we can young talented players who are first-team ready and can appreciate with the club.
“They can appreciate by getting exposure, playing games and developing. Then at some point their value goes up to a point where there’s interest in them. Then you have to manage that the best way forward.
“So we’re really pleased a number of players are now at a stage where they’ve got the games and have really appreciated in value.”
Meanwhile, former Portsmouth star and ex-Croatia international Niko Kranjcar tipped Segecic to reach the “elite level”.
Segecic has been placed on standby by Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the 2022 semi-finalists already naming their 26-man squad.
The Portsmouth attacker, who opted to pledge his international allegiance to Croatia over Australia in a decision that sparked plenty of headlines earlier this year, will have to force his way into the 26 or hope for an injury to be a chance of fulfilling his 2026 World Cup aspirations.
Any of the seven players named as stand by options can be called into this preliminary squad, but it needs to be before FIFA’s June 1 deadline.
Kranjcar, an 81-time international and current head coach of Croatia’s Under-21s, told Sportske Novosti: “He is a specific player, because we don’t have a lot of profiles like that. Fast, agile, vertical, with modern performances.
“I don’t know where he will be, but I am sure that he has the necessary qualities to grow to a high, elite level of football.
“It’s all up to him, and I can say that we enjoy working with him. He fits in perfectly, shares our values, follows the staff, the ideas, and his teammates.
“Nothing was guaranteed to him, he started like everyone else, but the impression is that he is different and that today and tomorrow he can be a great value.”
Discussion about this post