Increased budget can help Portsmouth climb the Championship

You should never really judge a player by a pre-season friendly, but Portsmouth fans' first, brief sighting of Rocco Shein at Bristol Rovers on Saturday was a promising one.

He looked bright and was clear in his interview afterwards. He is delighted to be in England but wants to reach the Premier League, as everyone in the Championship dreams of.

The fee paid for him is significant - understood to be just shy of £2m to prise him from Fredrikstad in Norway. It is the most Pompey have paid for a player since they were in the Premier League more than 16 years ago.

Shein's fee will only hold that title briefly with Marko Milovanovic's move from Almeria very nearly complete. The initial fee for that move is widely reported to be around £3.5m.

The hopes will be high for both additions. Portsmouth still need a right winger (it is possible that could be Abu Kamara although that feels like another article in itself), a defensive midfielder and they would like another central defender. There is still plenty of work to do but with more money to spend than the past two summers.

However, by Championship standards these are not big fees. If Shein does achieve his dream and reach the top flight, £2m will have been an absolute bargain. Portsmouth were very keen to sign Pelle Mattsson last summer but could not come close to matching the £3.5m Norwich City were able to pay. He had a good debut season and is very much one that got away.

The fee for Milovanovic is around what Portsmouth's total spend was last summer. A crude search suggests at least eight strikers were bought for more in the Championship last summer. If he can become an elite second tier forward it is a great piece of business.

Portsmouth's budget is clearly increasing this season and there is a decent chance it will be outside the bottom three for the first time since they have been back in the division. The past two summers have highlighted just how difficult it is to recruit on a shoestring.

The challenge may now have moved from 'almost impossible' to 'difficult'. But if Pompey can get two or three big arrivals firing then they absolutely can start climbing the division.