‘We’re delighted’: The Portsmouth rising star earning rave reviews as stock soars away from Fratton
A shining light for Pompey’s academy, St Johnstone in the Scottish Championship is offering the former Henry Cort Community College pupil a platform to excel.
Pompey have expressed their pleasure at Toby Steward’s soaring status as his stock rises away from Fratton Park.
And sporting director Rich Hughes admitted he’s surprised the Blues’ rising starlet isn’t developing higher up the football chain, as he praised the keeper’s progress north of the border.
Pompey delight as Steward earns rave reviews
Steward is making a powerful impact after agreeing a season-long loan stay with Scottish Championship outfit St Johnstone, who are flying at the head of their table.
The former Henry Cort Community College pupil has earned rave reviews amid 17 outings so far this term, collecting eight clean sheets along the way. It’s a move which could scarcely have gone any better for the 20-year-old so far, off the back of a strong League One loan stint with Crawley at the back end of last season.
Steward’s education has seen just a single league defeat for his side so far, as he had a difficult afternoon in a 3-1 loss to Arbroath earlier this month. The academy graduate bounced back with a clean sheet in a 4-0 win against Morton last time out, as boss Simo Valakari’s side opened up a three-point advantage over Partick.
It’s a move Pompey are keeping close tabs on, with Hughes pleased to see Steward gaining the exposure to first-team football he requires.
Hughes explained bringing in Josef Bursik in addition to having Nico Schmid and Ben Killip in the building, was a move made with an eye on Steward’s development.
The former Gosport loanee’s agreement runs until next summer, with Pompey have a 12-month option on the keeper.
Hughes stated he’s not yet sure what the future yet holds for one of the few players to progress from the academy into senior football in recent years, but his progress is there to be seen.
Speaking to the Tony Goodall Fans’ Conference earlier this month, Hughes said: ‘We’re delighted with what he’s been doing. We’re keeping tabs on St Johnstone, and speak to his goalkeeping coach up there a lot. (Goalkeeping coach) Joe Prodomo is in constant dialogue with him.
‘Toby comes down to see his family a lot, and so we keep in touch with him here when he does. Joe does Zoom calls with him up in Scotland to assess his games.
Pompey chief: ‘Surprise club higher up chain didn’t come in for him’
‘There was some surprise and frustration – with full respect to St Johnstone – that a club higher up the chain didn’t come in for him. But they’re a team who are really competitive, and want to get promoted. It’s a great club for him to be at.
‘Where do we see him next year? I don’t know at this stage.
‘We wanted to remove the obstacles for his development. That’s why we signed an extra goalkeeper - if we had fewer in the squad, that would’ve prevented Toby going out on loan, or we might’ve needed to recall him. We’ve been really pleased with his development.’