Portsmouth make surprise defender transfer decision amid injury crisis
Pompey sanction loan exit of young defender amid ongoing injury crisis.
Pompey have sanctioned the loan departure of young defender Nat Chioma amid their ongoing injury crisis.
The 18-year-old has joined the Hawks on a three-month loan deal less than 24 hours after being recalled by the Blues from a spell at Poole Town.
He featured five times for the Southern League Premier South table toppers during his one-month stay, but has since linked up with former Dolphins joint bosses Joe Lea and Pat Suraci, who were appointed by the Westleigh Park outfit last week.
Chioma joins fellow Pompey academy team-mate Michael Ani, who joined the Hawks on a ‘short-term’ loan in September.
News of the teenager’s latest Fratton exit comes with John Mousinho’s side in the midst of an injury crisis ahead of their trip to Wolves on Tuesday evening.
The Blues have been subsequently forced to name two goalkeepers amongst their substitutes for each of their previous two matches, with that expected to continue in the West Midlands.
Mousinho told The News after the Carrow Road success on the weekend he would never promote young Pompey talent ‘for the sake of it’.
But with just 18 outfield players potentially available for the Wolves trip, the head coach admitted he might be forced to change his stance.
He said: ‘We will have to reassess the substitute situation. We are hoping to have bodies back for Millwall and we have the three young lads out on loan, so we’ll see what that looks like.
‘What we don’t want to do is just fill the bench for the sake of it if we’re not going to bring players on. So we’ll adjust and see what that looks like.
‘My take on the Sheffield United game was if you put an Academy player on the bench for the experience, that’s fine. Then I asked myself the question: would I bring that player on? The answer was no.
‘Would I bring Ben (Killip) on if we needed him? There is an unbelievably small chance of needing to make two goalkeeping substitutions, but why waste a spot? If the worst thing that could happen is you’ve got an issue with two keepers, then you’ve got a replacement there.
‘The thought process is we’ve let them out on loan to various non-league clubs, that step up, though, is so, so big. Bringing in a kid is great for experience, but stick him on the pitch and it could kill his career off before it even starts.
‘We’ve got a couple of good ones. Ashton (Sizer) has gone away with Wales under-19s and done very well.
‘If you ask whether he is ready for a taste of Championship football, I honestly don’t think so - and I want to protect him just as much as I want to protect the team.’