Alfie Whiteman spent time on trial with Pompey during pre-season as he looked to earn a Fratton deal.
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Former Pompey triallist Alfie Whiteman has made a shock career decision- just months after training with the Blues.
The goalkeeper has announced he has hung up his gloves, aged 27, to pursue a fresh start in film production.
The shot stopper, who departed Spurs in the summer, spent a short period on trial with John Mousinho’s men in July as he went in search of a new footballing home, having spent 17 years in north London.
Alfie Whiteman’s Pompey trial
Whiteman featured twice for the Blues, with outings coming in a 2-0 pre-season triumph over Woking, as well as a win against Crawley in a behind-closed-doors friendly.
But the Europa League winner departed PO4 ahead of the season-opener against Oxford United, with the head coach admitting after a goalless draw with the Hawks that he was no longer training with Pompey.
Mousinho told The News at the time: ‘Alfie’s no longer with us on trial and he hasn’t been with us this week, but we’ll be keeping a keen eye on where Alfie ends up.’
In a later interview with The Athletic, Whiteman claimed he turned down the offer of an initial six-month deal to remain at Fratton Park and compete with Nicolas Schmid, Ben Killip and Jordan Archer for the No1 jersey.
The keeper, though, has made it clear his mind was already set on a change of career, which has since seen him turn his attention to the film and production industry.
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Why Alfie Whiteman called time on football career
After breaking through the ranks at Spurs, aged 10, the Londoner - who was capped 17 times for England at youth level - registered just one senior appearance for Tottenham during his 16-year association with the Premier League outfit and departed after their Europa League success in May.
Since then, Whiteman has lifted the lid on the reasons why he opted to bring his footballing career to a premature end - just months after his Pompey trial
He told The Athletic: ‘There was a weekend when I went home, and I started contemplating all my options. I had other things I’ve been building on the side and it was more exciting to me. To put it plainly, I saw happiness in these other avenues.
‘It got to this point where I’d rather end this on my terms than go to a club that I just didn’t want to go to.
‘When I was younger, I always said I didn’t want to play in the lower leagues; it was always about the highest level. Otherwise, I’d rather do something else. So I just took this step into the unknown, and I was like, “Oh, holy s***. I’m actually doing it.”.
‘Anything can happen. I’m in complete control of my life, and it’s really exciting and really scary.’
Whiteman has since signed for Somesuch, a film and production company, with the former Spurs man specialising in photography.
After departing Pompey in July, the keeper admitted he has not watched any football since - but is planning to film a documentary on the World Cup in the United States next year.
In the summer, Pompey added Josef Bursik to their goalkeeping pool, with the former Club Brugge man currently John Mousinho’s preferred stand-in for Schmid, who is currently out with a broken hand.