'Brilliant': Portsmouth boss John Mousinho addresses first-team future of title-chasing starlet
The youngster has made 28 appearances for the long-time Scottish Championship leaders
John Mousinho has revealed his Toby Steward plans for this season - and beyond.
And it will delight fans of St Johnstone, where the highly-regarded goalkeeper has been a pivotal performer in their dominance of the Scottish Championship.
While Pompey are embroiled in another relegation battle, Steward is flourishing in regular first-team football during a season-long loan with the Perth-based club.
Steward has featured 28 times and continues to earn rave reviews for his consistently high level of performances as his impressive development continues at pace.
Portsmouth boss: It has been a brilliant loan for him
And while Pompey have the option to recall the 20-year-old from St Johnstone this month, Mousinho is extremely happy with the keeper’s progression.
Mousinho told The News: ‘Toby is doing very well, we keep a really close eye on how he’s getting on. St Johnstone have had a really good season - and Toby has been a big part of that.
‘It has been a brilliant loan for him so far and not only do we focus on the here and now for his career, but we also look beyond.
‘What that looks like for Toby is coming back to us off the back of a really successful season up in Scotland and competing next season.
‘We’ve always known he has the ability and promise. We have the option to recall him in January, but, at the minute, we have a very, very strong goalkeeping department.’
National League South and League One football in the same season
Pompey had been hoping to find League Two takers for Steward last summer on a season-long loan, yet instead he moved to the Scottish Championship.
The keeper started the 2024-25 season at National League South side Tonbridge Angels and ended it in League One with Crawley, capping another impressive season in his development.
It was at Crawley where the former Henry Cort Community College pupil made his Football League debut after joining them on an emergency loan in April 2025.
He subsequently kept a clean sheet on his debut at Birmingham and totalled four appearances to confirm his potential beyond non-league level.
Then, in July 2025, he linked up with St Johnstone on a season-long loan - and immediately installed as their number one keeper following relegation from the Scottish Premiership.
Pompey well-stock for goalkeepers
Certainly Pompey are well-stocked with goalkeepers at present, with the September deadline day arrival of Josef Bursik from Club Brugge taking the number of goalkeepers on their books to five.
Nicolas Schmid, Ben Killip and Bursik have all featured in the Championship for Mousinho’s men this season, although Killip has found himself out of the match-day squad since at the start of November.
Jordan Archer is also contracted at Fratton Park, yet was not registered in the 25-man Football League squad for the first half of the season, so couldn’t feature.
Mousinho has confirmed the Blues are looking to offload the former Spurs keeper this month, with six months remaining on the deal he signed in the summer of 2024.
Meanwhile, Steward, who since 2022 has turned out on loan at Bognor, Salisbury, Gosport, Tonbridge Angels, Wealdstone, Crawley and now St Johnstone, is continuing to game crucial experience away from Fratton Park.