Pompey have signed 13 players on two-year scholarships.
Alexander Grant, Andrew Higgins, Patrick Antelmi, Jordan David Fitzharris, Ryan Williams, Chinedu Vine, Matt Gledhill, Ashley Harris, James Jennings, Sam Magri, Elliot Wheeler, Dan Butler and George Colson signed their scholarship forms at Fratton Park on Wednesday and Thursday.
They will all join the club’s academy and strive to win a professional contract with the Blues by the end of their second year.
Pompey’s director of youth operations Paul Smalley said he was pleased to see the academy going from strength to strength – especially as seven of the 13 have come up through the club’s youth set-up.
“This is an exciting group of players,” he revealed. “Some have been scouted by our network – we’ve got a couple from the Republic of Ireland and five British players who have been based in an academy in Australia.
“And we’ve got seven who have come from our nines-to-16s programme. They are local lads, they live in the city and one of those – Sam Magri – had four international caps with the England under-16 side.
“It’s another building block following on from the recent professional signings of Perry Ryan, Peter Gregory, Ellis Martin and Billy Goddard, who have stepped up from the academy and into the senior squad.
“Now we’re building on that by taking on another group of scholars.
“When you look at the players who have stepped up, I think you can see the progression and the younger players can see that the opportunities are there for them.
“We’ve been working hard with the parents to help them realise that Portsmouth Football Club will have one of the best youth programmes in the country. It’s going to take a little bit of time, it doesn’t happen overnight.
“The key outcomes for us are foremost producing players for the first team and producing players who will go on to have a career in football.
“There is a drop-out percentage, where players don’t make the progress that you want or expect, but as long as we can give them a fantastic experience here then they can take that with them and it will reflect well on Portsmouth Football Club.
“The players and their parents see good here. The club can provide what they need to get better – both educationally and from a technical point of view.
“We have their needs at heart and we are starting to develop a bit of a reputation around the country by what we are trying to achieve and by producing players for a career in the game.”