Clubs across the Championship are splashing the cash this summer, but Alfie Whiteman will cost absolutely nothing and he’d be a great signing for Portsmouth.
The likes of Birmingham City, Norwich, and West Brom have already made major moves in the market ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Meanwhile, Portsmouth have been a bit quieter, but the South Coast club will need to bolster their ranks if they’re to avoid getting sucked into a relegation battle in the coming season.
John Mousinho’s side finished 16th last season after gaining promotion from League One, but were just five points away from the drop zone.
Here, we outline one Portsmouth signing they should be chasing next.
Alfie Whiteman never made a senior start for Tottenham Hotspur, but he’s got the talent
Among all the Premier League free agents looking for new clubs this summer, one of the biggest gambles out there is Alfie Whiteman.
The 26-year-old goalkeeper came through the Tottenham Hotspur academy and had been with the club for a decade before he was released this summer.
In all that time in North London, however, Whiteman made just one very brief substitute appearance, playing eight minutes of a Europa League tie. That was in November 2020.
Since then, Whiteman has featured on the Spurs bench from time to time, but has always been low down the pecking order behind the likes of Hugo Lloris, and more recently, Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky, and even fellow academy man Brandon Austin.
Funnily enough, Whiteman has found himself with a bit of a cult following thanks to his exploits outside of football. When he’s not working on his game between the sticks, Whiteman has been known to get behind the DJ decks and perform at club nights, and is also a keen cinephile who shares his thoughts on films very publicly via Letterboxd.
Still, the very fact that Spurs kept Whiteman around for so long, and indeed offered him a new contract in 2019, speaks volumes about his quality.
The career of a goalkeeper, especially a young one, is very tough. When you’re part of a top Premier League side, it becomes even more difficult, and Whiteman is simply the victim of being behind some really strong goalkeepers over the years.
He’s more than capable of performing at Championship level, and Portsmouth should give him that chance now.
Portsmouth need Alfie Whiteman more than Blackburn Rovers
It’s said Whiteman has already been on trial with Portsmouth this summer, but Pompey face competition from the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Oxford United, and Stoke City.
The thing is, Blackburn have Aynsley Pears in goal and unless they sell him, Whiteman would probably be looking at a back-up role again.
The same goes for Stoke, who have one of the best players in the Championship in his position, with Viktor Johansson the undisputed number one there.
Oxford United could probably offer Whiteman the first-team football he craves, but Portsmouth are the most likely to genuinely make the 26-year-old their number one.
Mousinho currently has Nicholas Schmid, Jordan Archer, Toby Steward, and Ben Killip as his goalkeeping options. Truth is, none of them come close to Whiteman, and that will make all the difference as he decides on his next club.