Portsmouth exit: Coach confirms move to Chelsea in social media post

Portsmouth youth coach Rob Maynard has confirmed his departure from Fratton Park to join Chelsea in a statement on social media.

Maynard posted on X [31 December] to bid farewell to the club whom he had served as Lead Coach of the development phase between Under-6 and Under-11 level for the gradually improving academy setup.

The UEFA A-qualified coach, who had been full-time at Pompey since 2021 and been in a part-time youth role for the past decade, now makes the switch to Chelsea - the club Maynard had been "working towards" throughout his career.

Portsmouth must invest in Academy

Portsmouth have been under pressure from supporters under the current regime to invest further into the club's academy setup.

There is, as it stands, no Under-21 team in place in the city which resulted in all the club's Under-18s leaving for free last summer upon expiry of their two-year scholarships.

Sam Hudson's U18s have continued in a progressive vein of form as 2024 went on and the promise is there, but there has to be a bridge in place.

Pompey will hopefully prioritise a reshuffle of the academy cell leads following Maynard's departure, which can be understood given his ambition to work for Chelsea.

Several U18s have been selected by John Mousinho as part of the first-team matchday squad which bodes well for the future, but senior opportunities have actually dwindled since the club's promotion to the Championship, as they can now no longer compete in the EFL Trophy which had handed several youngsters their debuts in recent years.

In other Portsmouth news, Mousinho's time was arguably wasted with a recent transfer question.

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