Thomas Waddingham chasing Socceroos spot after signing with Portsmouth

Having left Brisbane Roar for English club Portsmouth, a young Australian striker is hoping for Socceroos recognition.

Thomas Waddingham is targeting Socceroos selection after moving from Brisbane Roar to English Championship club Portsmouth.

The 19-year-old striker said signing a three-and-a-half year deal with Portsmouth – for a transfer fee of about $395,000 – was a “very exciting moment” in his career.

“I was speaking to the coach (John Mousinho) on a call and he was (saying) `we really want to improve, we really want to get better and do well’, which I bought into, so I’m really happy,” Waddingham told Network 10.

Waddingham is also looking forward to becoming teammates at club level with Socceroos forward Kusini Yengi, who is currently sidelined with a knee injury.

“I’ll definitely learn heaps from him. He’s in the Socceroos, so it’ll be good to be around him and other strikers,” he said.

✍️ Welcome to #Pompey, Thomas Waddingham!

🔵 The Australian forward arrives from Brisbane Roar for an undisclosed fee.

— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) January 22, 2025

Waddingham also hopes to follow in Yengi’s footsteps by playing for the national team.

“I’ve got to keep working hard and keep my head down, and hopefully that’ll come soon,” he said.

Mousinho said Waddingham was a “really exciting young player” with “bags of potential”.

“Thomas has already made a real impact playing in the A-League this season and will be ready to come here and try to do the same for us in the Championship,” the Portsmouth boss said.

“He works incredibly hard off the ball and scores goals, while is also a big physical presence, so we’re very much looking forward to working with him.”

Waddingham admitted it was hard to leave the Roar, despite Brisbane being on the bottom of the A-League ladder.

“When I was younger, the only dream I had was to play for this club (the Roar), so it’s obviously tough to leave it, but to go even further than that is pretty surreal, especially at this age,” the Cairns product said.

Originally published as Thomas Waddingham chasing Socceroos spot after signing with Portsmouth