Harry Clout to make first-team claim to John Mousinho as Portsmouth struggles continue
Harry Clout must be knocking on John Mousinho’s door as the Portsmouth senior team continues to struggle in the Championship.
The teenager was involved in Pompey’s pre-season preparations after the club secured promotion from League One last season, impressing the manager and fans, too [The News].
He even gained a spot on the bench for two of Portsmouth’s first three league matches of the campaign, though he was unable to claim his Championship debut in either draw.
Since then, Mousinho’s team have only secured one victory in the league, seeing them fall to the bottom of the table with six draws and six losses, which puts them in a dangerous position already.
Goals are certainly an issue for the newly promoted side, with only QPR hitting the back of the net fewer times so far, so Clout will feel he has something to give to the first team.
Harry Clout to make first-team push at Portsmouth?
In September, Clout was averaging an assist per game in the academy, which earned him a call-up to the first-team set-up, and he will be eager to take that one step further this season.
With just one win from their first 13 matches, Mousinho clearly needs to try something different in the final third, and that could see the left-wing prospect being given a chance towards the end of games.
Their highest scorer is Callum Lang with four goals, and Josh Murphy has the most assists with two so far, so Pompey need a drastic change if they are to survive the very real threat of relegation.
Of course, it would be a huge risk for Mousinho to put his trust in one of the academy’s stars in such a precarious position and it would raise eyebrows, but weirder things have happened in the Championship.
In other Portsmouth news, concern for a Blues striker despite an encouraging all-round analysis of the Hull visit.