The promising attacker made five Pompey appearances before his release in May 2024
Koby Mottoh’s Pompey dreams were shattered last summer - now he’s flourishing after bouncing back in style.
The pacy right-sided player was considered one the Academy’s brightest prospects, making five first-team outings in 2023-24 and enjoying spells training with John Mousinho’s squad.
However, the Blues decided against offering Mottoh professional terms following his graduation, allowing him to leave Fratton Park in May 2024.
An outstanding Bournemouth season for ex-Portsmouth youngster
It has subsequently been an outstanding season for the Cherries’ development squad, with the highly-regarded 18-year-old at the heart of it.
Alan Connell’s talented youngsters finished top of Group South in the Professional Development League, having registered 13 successive victories in a 14-match unbeaten run.
Mottoh featured as a first-half substitute in the decisive 5-2 win over Wigan, which also booked them a place in the Professional Development League play-offs.
Koby Mottoh has been with Bournemouth since July 2024 following his Pompey release.Koby Mottoh has been with Bournemouth since July 2024 following his Pompey release.
Koby Mottoh has been with Bournemouth since July 2024 following his Pompey release. | National World
However, the former Pompey youngster missed out on the final, with Bournemouth losing 3-2 against Brentford - the team which had finished as runners-up behind them in the league.
Regardless, it has still been an excellent season for Mottoh who, according to Wyscout, made 17 appearances and scored four times during his maiden Cherries campaign.
Played at Arsenal with Myles Lewis-Skelly
Pompey signed him two years later on a scholarship and, in August 2023, the right winger or right wing-back was handed his debut in the Carabao Cup at Forest Green aged 16 years, 11 months and nine days.
All five of his outings came in cup competitions, totalling five appearances, although his last squad involvement was the December 2023 defeat to AFC Wimbledon in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
‘We might be proven wrong’
‘We have gone up another level and could have offered him a deal, kept him around and loaned him out, although I don’t think he would have got a full-time loan. So it was a case of him coming back here to train.
‘That’s fine, but, with the numbers we’ll have next year, we aren’t sure Koby would have developed in a squad where we train every day with 22-24 players and then a smaller training group of lads who can’t get involved in the squad.
‘We thought the best thing for Koby was to go elsewhere. We aren’t sure where that’s going to be, we’ll try to support him in that. We wouldn't be surprised if an under-21 side picked him up and gave him that development which we can’t give him at the moment.
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‘We make these decisions not just based on the pathway for Koby, we also on whether we think he’s going to be able to make the step up to Pompey’s first-team in the Championship.
‘We live and die by that decision and might be proven wrong, but, at the moment, we don’t think that would be the case.’
Now the 18-year-old is thriving with Bournemouth’s under-21s as he attempts to carve out a career for himself in the game.
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