Koby Mottoh: Portsmouth prepared to hand youngster linked with Manchester City his full debut against Fulham in EFL Trophy

The talented teenager has made an eye-catching start to the season, with his impressive double and two assists in Saturday’s 4-0 win against Exeter in the Youth Alliance League helping to propel him into first-team reckoning.

Mousinho is delighted with that prospect, having handed the winger a place on the bench for the Blues’ draw against Port Vale in March. He also utilised the youngster’s talents during pre-season, with Mottoh getting game time with senior players against Bognor and Gosport Borough.

A runout from the bench in the Carabao Cup first-round win against Forest Green was further proof of the progress being made by the second-year scholar.

Now Mottah – who was linked with a move to Manchester City last season – could be handed the chance to start for the very first time for Pompey’s senior team as Mousinho looks to freshen his side up for the visit of Fulham’s young guns.

When asked if he would be tempted to throw the Academy ace in from the beginning, the head coach said: ‘Yeah, there’s always that opportunity.

‘Koby came off the bench against Forest Green because he performed so well over the previous weekend with the Academy and thankfully he’s kept up that sort of performance with a couple of goals recently and, from the reports that we’ve had, he’s done really well.

‘So, another one we are looking to progress into first-team action if possible, if he deserves it, if he does well enough.

‘I think we’ve shown that we’re more than willing to do that – if and when the time comes, especially with his appearance on the bench last season.

‘So, yeah, a good opportunity possibly for him but also any others who want to go after that.’

Mousinho said he wanted his team selection to remain strong and competitive for the visit of the Cottagers.

But given Pompey’s strength in depth, he feels he can still achieve those objectives by making wholesale changes to the side that drew with Cheltenham in the league – even with Tom Lowery and Kusini Yengi ruled out through injury.

He added: ‘Team selection-wise, we’re going to go with a strong team. That might mean there’s a few changes but in terms of where we think we are with the squad at the moment, we think we can make a few changes and still be really strong and competitive.

‘There was proof of that in the first round of the League Cup when we made 10 changes and came through really well, beating Forest Green away from home 3-1.

‘We’ll probably look to do something similar on Tuesday night. It won’t be exactly the same, obviously, but it’s a real chance for players to come out and impress and ultimately look to win the game.’

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