The youngsters who've been caught in middle ground which Portsmouth aim to improve

After taking up his new role as player development manager at Fratton Park, Mark Kelly has been explaining his aims.

The former academy boss admitted youngsters have been caught between the ‘two loops’ of the youth and the first team in recent years.

Kelly is now setting about putting more focus on the area to ensure there’s a smoother passage.

Alex Bass, who signed his maiden professional deal in 2016, is the last academy graduate to become a regular in the first team.

While the likes of Adam Webster, Jed Wallace, Jack Whatmough and Conor Chaplin made the transition before the keeper, there’s been no-one since.

We've taken a look at where all those players who’ve been caught in the middle are today...

Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain

The former St John's College pupil has always had pressure on his shoulders given what his brother, Alex, has achieved.

Yet the midfielder never quite made an impact during his two professional years at the club, after putting pen to paper in 2016.

Oxlade-Chamberlain made only one first-team appearance, which was a Checkatrade Trophy loss at Exeter when he was still in the academy.

Kenny Jackett converted Oxlade-Chamberlain into the right-back when he took charge as boss and he had a spell out on loan at Oxford City.

His performance against Notts County in the FA Cup first round earned him a move to Meadow Lane after his Fratton release in 2018.

However, he featured only three times during his two-year spell at the Magpies and departed earlier this summer.

Calvin Davies

The right-back put pen to paper on his professional deal in 2016.

Davies also only played once for Pompey, which was in that 2-0 loss to Exeter in a side primarily made up of youngsters.

He was a regular in the reserves' run to the Premier League Cup final but was released shortly after the Blues' League Two title triumph.

Davies has had a series of knee problems after joining Bognor permanently.

Theo Widdrington

The tenacious midfielder signed pro terms at Fratton Park in 2017.

The former Pompey Academy captain never made his first-team debut, although he did feature on the bench on two occasions.

He also enjoyed a good loan spell at the Hawks during the first half of 2017-18 before he was recalled to Fratton Park to cover injuries to Danny Rose and Stuart O'Keefe.

Widdrington was released in the summer of 2018 before joining Bristol Rovers.

However, he struggled to make an impact at the Memorial Stadium and departed earlier this summer, following loan spells at Bognor and Welling.

Jez Bedford

The Dorset-born midfielder was well out of the fray during his professional season at Pompey in 2017-18.

The closest he got to the first team was serving as 19th man in a 2-1 victory at Fleetwood when the average starting XI age was 22.3.

Bedford also had a loan spell at Poole Town – the club he's still at today.

Matt Casey

The centre-back has been the one of the closest to the first team out of the youngsters to come through in recent years.

Casey, along with Dan Smith, were the first players at the club to sign third-year scholarships when the club converted to that model in 2018.

The Botley lad made encouraging progress that season, featuring three times on the road to Pompey's Checkatrade Trophy triumph at Wembley.

He also had an encouraging loan spell at Gosport Borough, which earned him a first pro deal last summer.

However, Casey didn't quite kick on last term. He didn't make a first-team outing and was sent back from his loan at the Hawks after two appearances.

He was released earlier this summer and is set for a trial at Yeovil.

Dan Smith

The striker enjoyed a decent 2018-19 out on loan at Bognor while he was a third-year scholar, scoring 12 times in total.

He also featured in two Checkatrade Trophy games but wasn't offered professional terms to some fans' surprise.

Smith was prolific when returning to Bognor on a permanent basis last season, though, bagging 26 goals in all competitions.

That earned him a switch to National League side Eastleigh last month.

Leon Maloney

The Isle of Wight talent signed third-year scholarship terms in 2019 after impressing in the youth team.

Maloney was in and around Kenny Jackett's set-up during the opening months of the season, including being named on the bench for the south-coast derby defeat to Southampton and a League One draw at Blackpool.

All four of the winger's appearances were in the Leasing.com Trophy, which included a goal against Northampton.

However, Maloney left in January to join Dutch outfit FC Volendam for an undisclosed fee, after spending a period on trial with the club earlier in the campaign.

Bradley Lethbridge

The Gosport forward unsurprisingly earned a third-year scholarship last summer after impressing out on loan at Bognor in 2018-19.

He also featured twice for Pompey in the Checkatrade Trophy.

However, Lethbridge had somewhat of an underwhelming season last campaign.

While he bagged his maiden Blues goal in a 2-2 Leasing.com Trophy draw at Oxford, he was troubled with injuries.

After his release, Lethbridge has now moved to the Rocks permanently and been told to fulfil his potential to make it in the Football League.