Ritchie to leave Pompey after 'amicable' agreement

Matt Ritchie will leave Portsmouth after discussions with John Mousinho over game time

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho says winger Matt Ritchie will leave the club this summer after "amicable" discussions between the pair at the end of last season.

Ritchie rejoined Pompey last summer for a second spell at the club, having started his career at Portsmouth before a move to Swindon Town in 2011.

Last season, the 35-year-old, who has 16 Scotland caps, made 41 appearances for Mousinho's side across all competitions, scoring five goals in the process.

"We had a conversation with Matt at the back end of the season about expectations around playing time," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"It was a really grown-up chat about where he is at with his career and what I was willing or able to promise him this coming season.

"We shook hands and said that if he could find somewhere else that was going to guarantee him that [more game time] then that would be fine."

Portsmouth fans on social media had noted Gosport-born Ritchie, who played more than 180 Premier League games for Newcastle United and Bournemouth before his Pompey return, had not travelled on the club's pre-season trip to Slovakia.

He played a key role in Portsmouth's Championship survival as they secured a 16th-placed finish in their first campaign back in the second tier last season.

"Matt was a massive part of us staying in the Championship last year and I really enjoyed working with him," Mousinho added.

"We have given him the opportunity now to sound out anything he needs to at home and then we can part ways amicably and as best we can.

"There was no falling-out at all, we wanted to be adults about it and just have the conversation - it was very amicable and harmonious and we wanted to find the right solution for us both."

Shame to see Ritchie leave but no shock - analysis

Andrew Moon, BBC Radio Solent

The separation might be amicable but it feels a shame that Matt Ritchie's Pompey homecoming will end after just one season.

Ritchie's arrival in the side as a starter last autumn came around the time Pompey's season finally got going. He often drove the team's effective press from the front and was a leader on the pitch.

His numbers, though, were very modest. Five goals and just one assist to his name last season and he rarely completed 90 minutes.

He would have been a useful squad player but ultimately that's not a role he's willing to fulfil at this point in his career.

Pompey are looking for a right winger who can have something like the impact Josh Murphy has had on the left side. Finding one won't be easy.