Pompey’s John Mousinho has confirmed that the club is not currently looking to make a bid for Matt Ritchie.
The Blues manager has expressed his appreciation for the man, who departed Newcastle United after eight years this summer.
However, that admiration for the Gosport lad does not appear to convert into a homecoming for the academy graduate. Ritchie’s possible return to the club he departed in 2011 has sparked much speculation. The News believes Pompey considered bringing in the former Bournemouth and Swindon player after he was not on their radar this summer.
Ritchie has already expressed his wish to play for Pompey again before retiring.
In an interview with The News in 2020, the left-footer stated that he wanted to play for Pompey while he still had time in his career to make a huge impact. It is understood that prospect remains enticing to Ritchie, despite reports of interest from Sheffield United and Watford.
Another obvious issue is Ritchie’s Premier League pay, which was several times higher than Pompey could afford for its top owner.
Both of the Championship rivals credited with interest in the former Scotland international could get significantly closer than Pompey to what Ritchie was earning at St James’ Park.
Speaking to The News on a Facebook Live Q&A session, Mousinho was asked about the prospect of bringing Ritchie in this summer. He was fairly definitive about chances of a deal being struck at present.
Mousinho said: ‘Look, Matt is a fantastic player and he has the Portsmouth background, but as we are at the moment there’s nothing in that one.’
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