Ex-Portsmouth man's American adventure to be put on hold

The Gosport lad was keen to showcase his talents Stateside after being released by Pompey.

Lethbridge found out in January that he wouldn’t be handed a new Fratton Park deal when his third-year scholarship expired.

The forward then earmarked spending the summer across the pond and playing in a tournament that several scouts watch.

There was even a possibility of joining a side in the second tier if he duly impressed.

However, the Covid-19 outbreak has decimated those hopes.

Lethbridge said: ‘One of the boys at Bognor while I was on loan spoke to me about going out there and I wasn’t that interested at first.

‘Then I thought a bit more about it. When I found out I was being released I thought I needed to focus a bit more on myself.

‘I really wanted to go and it was a good opportunity. My agent thought it was a good idea as well

‘I could have played in the tournament and got into good shape then when I’d have come back I’d have already been in full flow.

‘It would have been like a pre pre-season and I would have been in the right shape to prove everyone wrong.

‘My agent said he’d have got teams to have come and watched me. There will be teams watching this summer league to spot players, while my agent was getting some clubs to come and look at me.

‘The guy I spoke to about playing out there is a manager of a team in the second division. They’re turning professional, so he said that he wanted to watch me.

‘He’d seen video clips of me but wanted to watch me in person. If I didn’t get a move (to a club in England) then maybe I could have signed for him in the second division.

‘It would have been a good step. Joe Cole played in the second division over there so it’s still a good standard.’

Lethbridge is unsure what the next step for him will be given the uncertainty that the coronavirus has caused.

The former Brune Park pupil spent the majority of the past two seasons on loan at Bognor and they would been keen to sign him permanently.

And rather than joining a Football League club with an under-23s set-up, Lethbridge wants to play regular senior football.

He added: ‘I want to be playing full-time senior football.

‘I’d rather stay in the full-time game because I’ll be playing all the time, staying fit and showing myself to everyone.

‘I don’t want to go to an under-23s set-up. If I stay in the senior game then I’ll have more chance of getting back into the professional ranks.’