Portsmouth boss addresses 'natural' Tommy Leigh transfer talk as Blues eye a summer player overhaul

And the head coach queried why the talented attacker was allowed to leave the Blues in the first place.

The 23-year-old is back on the south coast with Accrington on Saturday as they bid to avoid relegation to League Two.

With 12 goals this term, Leigh is Stanley’s leading scorer and shining light amid the second-from-bottom team’s ongoing struggles.

The local lad was released by Pompey at the age of 16 after not being offered a scholarship and instead rebuilt his career at Baffins Milton Rovers and then Bognor.

He joined Accrington in July 2021, since establishing himself as a productive number 10, with 20 goals in 77 appearances.

It’s a position Pompey are desperate to strengthen in the summer transfer window – and, inevitably, Leigh has been linked with a homecoming.

Mousinho told The News: ‘With Tommy being a local lad, it’s going to be a really interesting one for him on Saturday.

‘He has been a bright spark this season for Accrington and an energetic player that can create things across the front line and plays in a multitude of positions.

‘Hopefully he doesn’t have one of his better games on Saturday, but I think everyone knows he’s got a lot of quality.

‘He has played up front, particularly in a two, but mostly he has been a 10, sometimes as an eight, and sometimes off a striker. That shows he has really good versatility and athleticism for how he plays.

‘The natural one is should we look at Tommy in the summer – but perhaps if we rewind that and he’s a local lad, then maybe it’s one who slipped through the net? Who knows, I don't know what the situation was there.

‘The geography in terms of player recruitment is we expect most of the players to come down and live in Portsmouth anyway, that’s the geographical slant, maybe it can help sometimes.

‘But most of the time with the way footballers are, they’re quite nomadic, so it’s quite easy to get players from all around the country to come and play for Pompey, especially.’

Older brother Ashton is currently on AFC Portchester’s books, although has been sidelined since October after rupturing his ACL.

As for Tommy Leigh, who is contracted until the summer of 2024, he represents a calibre of signing the Blues are eyeing in their forthcoming overhaul.

Mousinho added: ‘There will be various different calibre of players coming in this summer.

‘There might be some names on the list which may be widely recognisable, there might be some that have never played a league minute before but are promising in an under-21s leagues – and everything in between.

‘The calibre of player is whatever’s the right fit for the right position at that time. I know that's a bit of a broad answer, but that’s just the truth, it’s not one size fits all.’