The surprise new face at Portsmouth training unmasked - and his chances of making Croatian tour

And John Mousinho admitted Academy youngster Harry Clout may yet book himself a seat on the forthcoming first-team tour to Croatia.

The second-year scholar has been promoted to train with the Championship newcomers’ squad, having impressed in Academy colours at the end of last season.

Clout, an attacking midfielder, caught Mousinho’s eye in April’s Youth Alliance Cup final defeat to Preston, netting in the 3-1 defeat.

That prompted the teenager’s presence at Monday’s training return, featuring among 20 outfield players in the session.

And Mousinho has been impressed with the former Crystal Palace youngster’s progress.

He told The News: ‘We looked at Harry’s performances towards the back end of last season in the Academy, particularly in the Youth Alliance Cup final against Preston, when I thought he was the outstanding player on the pitch.

‘So I thought he deserved to come in and have a chance with the first-team squad.

‘That chance to train with them didn't really appear at the back end of last season because of the fact we were still in the hunt to win the League One title.

‘Also at the back end of last year we had a lot of players who had returned, with the likes of Ben Stevenson and Tom Lowery coming back into full fitness. We were leaving 4-5 out of squads every week.

‘This week is a good opportunity for Harry to be able to do that. We will see plenty of him during pre-season, as we did in the Academy last year.

‘I’m not yet sure whether he will be coming to Croatia, we have to play that by ear, it depends on our numbers.

‘We’ll see what the back end of the week looks like.’

Last pre-season, Clout made two substitute appearances in friendlies against Gosport and the Hawks.

He also featured in their Hampshire Senior Cup campaign, scoring against Folland Sports in a 1-1 draw in November, before the youngsters lost on penalties.

Mousinho added: ‘Harry is a really flexible and versatile player.

‘When we played him last pre-season, it was as a 10, but I think he could play in the middle of the park as well. In that performance against Preston he was off the left.

‘He has plenty of energy, is a good technical player, and one of the parts of his development this year should be to nail down a position.

‘We don’t want to heap any pressure on Harry, we want to see how he gets on in pre-season. The games will be a good opportunity.’