'He's way ahead': Why Thomas Waddingham's Portsmouth development is exceeding expectations
The promising 20-year-old has scored once in five games since joining from the A-League
John Mousinho is adamant Thomas Waddingham’s development is ‘way ahead’ of where Pompey anticipated.
Now the Blues boss is banking on the energetic 20-year-old’s body learning how to cope with the physical demands of the English game.
The highly-regarded attacker made five appearances in the second half of the Championship season after joining from Brisbane Roar in January.
There was a debut goal at West Brom and an encouraging first start at Coventry, yet a hamstring injury disappointingly cut short the Australian’s campaign with five games to go.
That set-back followed two groin problems which also hampered Waddingham’s availability - nonetheless, Mousinho is delighted with how the youngster is progressing.
Portsmouth boss: We love the A-League
He told The News: ‘We love the A-League, absolutely love it. Clearly the A-League is played at a different tempo, the climate is different.
‘Living and playing, operating out of Australia is very, very different to what Tom has experienced coming over here, but he has adjusted really well.
‘The training load is something we need to get him used to because, when we stick Tom out on the training pitch, he doesn't hold back, he is all-action, he is at it, every second of every minute of training.
‘We’ve had to adjust that a couple of times, he’s had a couple of issues with his groin and then hamstring, which is more overload than anything else, that is not an action issue. Once he gets used to the training levels, he will be fine.
‘He’s made an impact, ended up playing games, scored against West Brom and is way ahead of where we thought he would be.
‘Physically, Tom now has a big summer ahead of him, so he needs to make sure he’s fully prepped for that and come back and challenge pre-season.’
Portsmouth’s June 23 pre-season return
Pompey’s players return for pre-season on June 23, hopefully with a clean bill of health for the majority.
Waddingham joined compatriots Jacob Farrell (knee) and Hayden Matthews (ankle) in missing the end of the 2024-25 campaign through injury.
Although fellow Australian Kusini Yengi has departed, the Blues remain excited over the Fratton Park futures of the remaining young prospects recruited from the A-League.
And with a pre-season tour to Slovakia scheduled alongside five friendlies to date, the trio’s ongoing development under Mousinho over the summer will be intriguing.
‘I don’t want him to become Colby Bishop’
Pompey’s head coach added: ‘Tom’s left footed, but is a good finisher off both feet. He’s also a really good size and physicality, but there’s plenty to work on in terms of game understanding.
‘I don’t want him to become Colby Bishop, however he needs to look at the in-possession threat Colby gives. Not just the goal-scoring threat, but the ability to hold the ball up and the ability to really batter defences to give us an outlet.
‘Tom can keep developing that as well, which is something he hasn’t been used to. But he is very, very sharp in and around training and a really good prospect.’
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