Pompey are already thinking about extending the contracts of stars who have another year on their Fratton deals - even though the future of players out of contract now has yet to be settled.

They hope to tie the likes of Christian Burgess and Kal Naismith will commit to the cause beyond the current term of their deals.

It comes as Blues fans express hopes that out-of-contract players like Kyle Bennett and Gareth Evans are given, and accept, new deals.

Chief exec Mark Catlin told The News: 'Priority number one is to get the existing players signed up. Number two is bringing in new players and strengthening the squad. Number three is making sure players running into their last year are signed up.

‘This will take place over the summer. With the likes of Naismith and Burgess, we wish to do that as soon as possible. Paul has already identified the players in their last year he wants us to speak to.

‘As soon as we get the current round of talks out of the way, that is our aim. It’s important to keep our best players for the continuity of the club moving forward, irrespective of the ownership model.’

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