Portsmouth reunion continues: League One rivals bag fifth ex-Fratton player in two months after snapping up Spurs and former Derby starlet

Boss Steve Evans snapped up youngster Harvey White from Spurs for an undisclosed fee on Friday.

The permanent signing of the 21-year-old wasn’t concluded until after the 11pm deadline, having secured a deal sheet with the Premier League.

Nonetheless, the former Blues loanee has joined the third-placed club after their return to League One.

By doing so, White links up with four former Pompey players in Dan Butler, Ben Thompson, Nathan Thompson and Louis Thompson.

All have arrived at the Lamex Stadium in the last two months to strengthen Stevenage’s bid to stabilise following promotion from League Two.

As a teenager, White made 22 appearances for Pompey after recruited by Kenny Jackett from Spurs in January 2021.

The Blues’ first signing of that transfer window, he was soon joined by Charlie Daniels and fellow loanees George Byers (Swansea) and Lewis Ward (Exeter).

At the time Jackett’s men were positioned third in League One, with the arrival of the highly-regarded England under-18 international seen as something of a coup.

Particularly having made his Spurs debut as a substitute in the Europa League earlier that season, while also starting a 5-0 win over Marine in the FA Cup.

However, White would total just six starts during his time at Fratton Park, under firstly Jackett and then replacement Danny Cowley.

There was a winner in a 1-0 victory at Oxford United in February 2021, which took the Blues into fourth spot, yet otherwise it was a quiet south-coast spell.

White also started the Papa Johns Trophy final against Salford in March 2021, a Wembley fixture played behind closed doors due to Covid, with a 4-2 penalty shoot-out defeat.

The following day Jackett was sacked and succeeded by Cowley, albeit initially as interim head coach until the season’s end.

White would start just once under the new man at the helm – a 1-0 loss at MK Dons – and came off the bench in eight of the last 10 fixtures.

He later appeared for Spurs in the Premier League, featuring as a substitute in a 4-0 win at Crystal Palace in January, while spent the second half of last season on loan at Derby.

Now White has joined some familiar faces at Stevenage as he looks to the next stage of his career.