The 17-year-old midfielder has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with his new employers. Mahoto began his footballing career in French, as a member of the academy ranks at Le Havre. He quickly caught the eye of scouts across Europe and Pompey moved for his services in 2008. The Premier League outfit were forced to pay an undisclosed amount in compensation to land the youngster, but saw his early days in England hampered by international clearance issues. He did, however, become an integral member of the club's youth teams and made impressive progress towards the first-team picture. Mahoto was handed his senior debut in a Carling Cup clash with Hereford in 2009, but was unable to build on that achievement and has now been deemed surplus to requirements by Grant.
