Boss challenges huge Portsmouth favourite to improve one part of his blossoming game amid ex-Shrewsbury man's eye-catching impact

Namely the 21-year-old’s fitness levels.

Crucially, however, it’s a potential weakness already in the process of being rectified, with the Blues head coach sensing ‘massive improvements’.

Saydee has proven a revelation since his summer arrival from Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee.

Swiftly earning the respect of the Fratton faithful, he warranted a standing ovation when substituted in the 89th minute of Saturday’s 3-1 win over Peterborough.

And Mousinho has challenged the former Shrewsbury loanee to continue enhancing his all-round game.

He told The News: ‘It wasn’t a difficult decision picking Christian (against Peterborough) because of the impact he’s had.

‘I guess the only thing we look at with Christian is fitness – and we are really trying to push him with that.

‘Towards the back end of the first half we thought he may be flagging a bit because of his output. I looked him in the eyes at half-time and said “Are you okay to keep going?”. He said he was absolutely fine.

‘Then he went again and again and again in the second half, he caught a second wind. We didn’t sub him until the 89th minute because of the impact he had, which was absolutely brilliant.

‘It’s lasting 90 minutes, especially for a young player who hasn’t necessarily had those demands. I know he’s had a couple of loans, but hasn’t had to play week in, week out.

‘Saturday was a really solid performance in terms of his physical endurance and then he adds a lot of magic and spark to the way he plays.

‘There were moments where he’s in those individual physical battles, but that’s not all about strength, it’s also what you have in your legs and how fit you can be.

‘Our challenge to Christian is twofold. Firstly to be in the team every week and to keep working really hard – and he has massively improved on his fitness.

‘He’s never going to be one that will win a 1,500m run, he’s built for power, and we have to make sure we marry that power with endurance because that’s the nature of the season.

‘We played 90 minutes and then three minutes added-on in one half and 11 minutes added-on in the second – that’s 104 minutes. He has to be able to last the distance because we know he’s got quality.’

Having started as a centre-forward against Peterborough in the Carabao Cup, Saydee dropped back into a number 10 role for the league encounter.

That meant operating behind lone striker Colby Bishop – and he subsequently turned in an impressive display.

Mousinho added: ‘Christian was playing just behind Colby, trying to provide that link.

‘There are opportunities for him to go up alongside Colby and play as a flat two, which I thought he did really well when out of possession, but he can be a real threat coming from a bit deeper.

‘Sometimes with two centre-forwards on the pitch playing flat, you lose your shape a bit, so him dropping in provides us with a nice link.’