Nine months on and the latest crop of Fratton Park youngsters did their futures no harm with an impressive victory over AFC Stoneham in the third round of the Hampshire Senior Cup on Wednesday evening.
But how exactly have those who now call PO4 their former home been getting on?
We took a quick look to find out.
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1. Leon Pitman - unattached
The Isle of White-born shot-stopper found himself at Wessex Premier League side AFC Portchester after his Fratton Park release. Despite a solid start to life at the Royals, where he played three times, keeping two clean sheets, he was later released following the arrival of Chichester City keeper Steven Mowthorpe. Photo: Duncan Shepherd
2. Alfie Stanley - Dorchester United
The 21-year-old was a fans' favourite after being a regular on the first team bench as well as impressing in the Papa John’s Trophy. Stanley was one of the players to be offered a contract at the end of last season but the club retracted their offer and he went onto have a trial at Burnley. Now at Dorchester, he's netted seven times in 25 outings this term for the seventh-tier side and scored at the weekend against Tiverton. Photo: Robin Jones
3. Taylor Seymour - Crawley Town
The young stopper made one outing off the bench for Pompey during the 2020-21 season, which came in the Papa John’s Trophy defeat to Peterborough. He would go on to sign for Isthmian League side Burgess Hill before being acquired by League Two side Crawley in January where he has so far yet to make an appearance for the Reds. Photo: Portsmouth FC
4. Gerard Story - Derry City
The Northern Irish midfielder spent a stop-start two years at Pompey, which included making one first team outing last December. The Belfast youngster returned to Northern Ireland in the summer and penned a one-year deal with Derry City. However, he played just twice for the Candystripes last season. Photo: Nigel Keene