Brooke-Smith: “The team has been really welcoming”

Young Pompey winger Luke Brooke-Smith speaks with Express FM’s David Howes for the first time since joining the club from Wellington Phoenix.

The 18-year-old wide player joined the Blues at the back end of July from Wellington for an undisclosed fee, where he was John Mousinho’s sixth addition of the summer transfer window.

Brooke-Smith recorded 38 appearances for the A-League outfit, whilst also being a regular in the New Zealand Under-20 set-up, where he has since gone on to feature for the senior side in a friendly against Australia.

Luke made his competitive Pompey debut in this past Saturday’s 3-1 defeat away at West Ham United, in the first round of the Carabao Cup at the London Stadium.

“It was amazing (playing vs West Ham), me and my dad watch England games all the time. Being a big English fan, I think he (Kyle Walker-Peters) made two or so caps for England, so it was pretty special. He's a very good player.

“But I think for me, getting chucked in a game like that against a player like that, I feel like it almost doesn't get any harder, so with that being the first game, it has helped me so much with my confidence.

On how he has settled into life on the south coast, Luke said: “If the weather stays like this, then? Yeah, it'll be perfect (he laughed), but nah, it's been really nice; I think it helps coming over in the summer for sure.

“I’ve been able to, like, see the city a bit more and explore. I don't have a car yet, but I think when I do get a car, then I would venture a little bit outside of Portsmouth to take a look and see what it's like.

“Everyone has been helping me find a place and everything, and so far I’ve loved it.”

Luke is all but familiar when it comes to moving location; when at 11, he relocated from Northland to Cambridge in New Zealand, where he then went on to move from Hamilton Wanderers to Wellington at 16.

“I think for me, it really helped going from where I used to live in Cambridge to Wellington to play for the Phoenix, because my parents asked if I wanted them to come down and I said, well, let me give it six months and see, because I don't want them to move my whole life and then end up being fine.

“And I think that first six months was really hard for me as a 16-year-old, like moving away and it being the first time in a pro environment as well.

“But after a while, I started fitting in and learning how to live by myself, so that makes where I’ve come here; I'm completely fine.

“I do still have my dad here; my mum has gone back now, and I think when my dad leaves I'll be completely fine because of the fact I lived by myself at such a young age.”

One of the notable sightings that Pompey fans would have noticed when Luke signed was that in his Wikipedia bio, it states that he was a former competitive BMX rider.

“My dad used to be British champ when he was 18, so when he came to New Zealand, he kind of carried it on a little bit. I watched him and when I was about five, I started racing. When I was seven, I'd done my first world champs, and then I did six more after that.

“When I was younger, because football was a winter sport in New Zealand, I would, if I was training for the world champs, I would have to miss a couple of training sessions for football and try to balance it out.

“Obviously when you're ten, it's not too serious, so just kind of did a bit of both, and then when I was 14, I decided I wanted to commit everything to football.”

On if he’s had a chance to head down to the famous Southsea Skate Park, Luke replied: “Not yet, I’ve actually seen it when I was walking back the other day, and it looks really cool.

“My dad came for a BMX race in Portsmouth when he was younger, and that’s what he said when we first came in, so if there's a race, I might go watch it!

Portsmouth have had a track record when it comes to bringing in young players from the A-League, with Kusini Yengi, Jacob Farrell, Thomas Waddingham, Hayden Matthews, and most notably Adrain Segečić.

“Wadds (Waddingham) left just before I made my debut; Faz (Farrell), I actually played against him.

“We played Western Sydney, I think, as one of the last games of the season, so I played him pretty recently, and Segs (Segečić) and Hayden (Mathews), I played once or twice before they came over.

But then when they did come over, I actually did follow Portsmouth quite a lot because I was quite interested to see how they were getting on and stuff.”

The Blues have several options on both wings, with the likes of Luke, Josh Murphy, Abu Kamara, Keshi Anderson, Harvey Blair, Franco Umeh, and even Adrain Segečić, and Eoin Kenny as options.

“Having all that competition is really healthy; any footballer would like to say that they like it, but at the end of the day, you want to be the one playing.

“So for me, with this being the first time in an environment like this in England, at such a high-level, I wanna learn, I wanna get better, and play.

“But ultimately, if I can come out this season having played and being a better player, as that is important, as a young player, you are improving all the time, so to learn from those boys, and hopefully they maybe learn a thing or two from me.

“If we can all grow together, that is the only way we can get better as a team, and have that healthy competition.”

Finally, on Saturday, Luke could be in contention to make his Championship and Fratton Park debut.

“I have only been to the stadium once, on my singing day, and everyone I have spoken to said you don’t wanna go to Fratton Park as an away player, so I can’t wait; QPR are a really good side.

“My dad will be here; he’s the only family member that’ll be here to watch me play, and hopefully I'll be amazing!"