Burnley run the rule over Portsmouth youngster after Fratton Park contract snub

Departing Destiny Ojo has been handed a trial at a Premier League club.

The third-year scholar, who is leaving Fratton Park this summer without any first-team action, has been handed a week’s training at Burnley to impress.

The striker previously spent time trialling with Colchester, after being invited by former Pompey boss Danny Cowley to turn out for the under-21s.

Ojo had loan spells with Poole Town, Sholing and Lancing this season in the search for first-team minutes to aid his development.

However, he enjoyed his best moments with Poole in Southern League Premier South, where he made 22 appearances and scored six times before being recalled in January.

In March, Ojo was informed he would be released by Pompey at the season’s end, along with 10 second-year scholars.

They have since been joined by Koby Mottoh, who had been handed two weeks training with John Mousinho’s first-team, but was unable to win a professional deal.

Although the under-18’s season is not yet over and Ojo appeared off the bench in last Thursday’s penalty shoot-out win over Fleetlands in the quarter-finals of the Portsmouth Senior Cup.

Ojo has been with the Blues since the summer of 2022, having joined the Academy from Lancing after impressing during a trial.

In June 2022, with head coach Danny Cowley short on strikers, the teenager was asked to step up and train with the first-team in pre-season, encouragingly catching the eye.

Yet in the first session of his second week, he broke his ankle with nobody near him in a freak training incident.

The injury sidelined Ojo for seven months, but he returned for the under-18s in the second half of last season, scoring three goals in 13 appearances.

Handed the opportunity to feature for John Mousinho’s side in pre-season last summer, he netted in friendlies against Gosport and the Hawks.

That prompted a loan switch to Poole along with Sam Folarin, yet while his team-mate was recalled within a month through lack of involvement, Ojo remained.

He later spent a month at Sholing, before finishing the season with Lancing, netting once in eight outings.

Now the striker is bidding to impress Burnley under-21s as he seeks to maintain his playing career.