'Huge amount of talent': Portsmouth boss backs exciting future for Fratton Park arrival

But John Mousinho has praised newcomer Harvey Blair’s Blues debut - and is convinced the ‘huge talent’ will flourish.

The 20-year-old was handed 37 minutes off the bench in Pompey’s 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough on Saturday.

It represented the former Liverpool attacker’s maiden league outing, having previously appeared solely in the Carabao Cup and Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

Quite a baptism considering the context of the Riverside Stadium occasion, with the Blues pinned back in their own penalty area for the majority of the second half.

But Mousinho was delighted with how Blair fared on his double debut.

He told The News: ‘It was a really tough introduction for such a young lad playing his first minutes of Championship football because of what the task was for him - and I thought Harvey did really well.

‘He worked tirelessly down that left-hand side and had that chance from the set-piece, but, in terms of what we would expect from Harvey, it was a really good introduction for him and we expect big things going forward.

‘He’s a really exciting prospect who can play both sides. He played up front a lot for Liverpool in pre-season as well as a nine, he’s direct, he’s athletic, he has a lot of pace and trickery as well.

‘We looked at Harvey this time last year and thought he was a year away from being ready, so we had parked that one as something we might be able to do this year. 

‘Then the possibility came this pre-season, so we had a good look at all he had done recently and now think he’s ready. He has a huge amount of talent.

‘Harvey has a lot of potential, but also the ability to affect things now.’

The Blues paid a reported £300,000 to land the highly-regarded attacker on a three-year deal.

Crucially, following the success of Alex Robertson and Abu Kamara during loan spells, Pompey now have their own young talent to nurture.

Mousinho added: ‘We were not so much stung, that's the wrong word, but with the loans we had last year, such as Alex Robertson and Abu Kamara, at the end of the loan period they go back to their parent club.

‘There's not a huge amount you can do with it other than try to find a lot of money in an attempt to bring them back into the football club.

‘So having Harvey as a permanent is a real positive for us. These are the sort of footballers we want to bring through and develop.’