Energetic Portsmouth youngster backed to continue his development

The right-back penned third-year scholarship terms with Pompey in the summer, along with Eoin Teggart and Alfie Stanley.

It was reward for his progress in the academy, having captained the young Blues last season.

Kavanagh – a former North Stand season-ticket holder – also enjoyed a loan spell at Bognor, while he featured for Gosport Borough in their 4-0 victory over Farnborough in the Southern League premier division south last weekend.

Player development manager, Mark Kelly, pinpointed the former Cowplain Community's School pupil’s crossing and energy as his key attributes.

Now Kavanaghs’ next challenge is to work on some defensive areas of his game as he seeks to establish himself at Fratton Park in the future.

Kelly said: ‘Harry went out on loan to Bognor last year and really kicked on.

‘He gets up and down, has loads of energy and has a great delivery.

‘The defending side is the bit that he's really honing in on – those one-v-one situations.

‘He learned a lot going out on loan last year.

‘If you're ticking boxes, Harry has so much energy and a good delivery. It's just that one-v-one defending in those little areas that he's concentrating and focusing on.

‘Harry's even played wider in a 3-5-2 formation, so you can also play him as a winger because he gets up and down so well.

‘There are different ways of developing different people. Haji (Mnoga) can play inside in central defence, while Harry can push on and play on the wing.

‘It's about looking at the boys' qualities and how we can develop and grow them.’

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