Ex-Portsmouth youngster suffers successive summer heartbreak after released by Blackpool following Championship relegation

Harvey Hughes was last summer offered a route back into the Football League with the Tangerines after the Blues opted against giving him a contract following his Academy graduation.

The defender, who had one Pompey first-team appearance to his name, subsequently trialled for Brighton under-23s, before earning a move to Blackpool.

However, following a season at Bloomfield Road, they have elected not to take up the option on his 12-month deal and the club this week announced the 19-year-old’s departure.

During his time Blackpool, Hughes, who hails from Lyndhurst, New Forest, featured for their development squad, while also spent time on loan at Bamber Bridge in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

Now he’s seeking a fresh challenge after being released alongside the likes of Liam Bridcutt, Gary Madine, Luke Garbutt, Curtis Nelson and Chris Maxwell.

Hughes emerged through Pompey’s ranks to make his debut in the Papa Johns Trophy against Crystal Palace Under-21s in November 2021.

He started at left-back in a 3-0 success, with Miguel Azeez, Gassan Ahadme and George Hirst netting for the Blues in front of a 1,660 crowd.

The youngster would also be named on the bench four times in 2021-22, including League One fixtures at Wycombe and at home to Sheffield Wednesday, yet wasn’t utilised.

That season, Hughes featured in Pompey reserves’ progress to the quarter-finals of the Hampshire Senior Cup, before a 4-0 defeat at Farnborough in February 2022.

Meanwhile, he totalled 14 appearances during a loan spell with Robbie Blake’s Bognor in the second half of the campaign, representing a first taste of regular first-team football.

However, at the end of his two-year scholarship with Pompey’s Academy, Hughes was released in the summer of 2022 along with Izzy Kaba, Conor Manderson and David Setters.

From that crop, Alfie Bridgman and Dan Gifford were handed third-year scholarships, while Harry Jewitt-White was taken on as a first-year professional.

A year later, Bridgman and Gifford have departed Pompey after the club announced their release on Friday, while a 12-month option has been taken up on Jewitt-White.

Following Hughes’ 2022 release, he spent a week-long trial with Brighton under-23s, where former Blues Academy head of recruitment Dave Wright is based.

But it was Blackpool which offered him a route back, without the need for a trial – and, 12 months later, he has left Bloomfield Road.