Pompey boss: Leigh return talk ‘natural’

John Mousinho admitted talk of a Fratton Park return for Tommy Leigh this summer was ‘natural’.

And the head coach queried why the talented attacker was allowed to leave the Blues in the first place.

The 23-year-old is back on the south coast with Accrington today as they bid to avoid relegation to League Two.

With 12 goals this term, Leigh is Stanley’s top scorer.

The local lad was released by Pompey at the age of 16 after not being offered a scholarship and instead rebuilt his career at Baffins Milton Rovers and then Bognor.

He joined Accrington in 2021, since establishing himself as a productive number 10, with 20 goals in 77 games.

It’s a position Pompey are desperate to strengthen in the summer transfer window – and, inevitably, Leigh has been linked with a homecoming.

Mousinho told The News: ‘With Tommy being a local lad, it’s going to be a really interesting one for him on Saturday.

‘He has been a bright spark this season for Accrington and an energetic player that can create things across the front line and plays in a multitude of positions.

‘Hopefully he doesn’t have one of his better games on Saturday, but I think everyone knows he’s got a lot of quality.

‘He has played up front, particularly in a two, but mostly he has been a 10, sometimes as an eight, and sometimes off a striker. That shows he has really good versatility and athleticism for how he plays.

‘The natural one is should we look at Tommy in the summer – but perhaps if we rewind that and he’s a local lad, then maybe it’s one who slipped through the net? Who knows, I don’t know what the situation was there.

‘Mostofthetimefootballers are quite nomadic, so it’s quite easy to get players from around thecountrytocomeandplayfor Pompey, especially.’