Four touches in one season: Australia struggles almost over for forgotten ex-Portsmouth, Luton and Millwall man

The midfielder swapped the south coast for Adelaide United in September 2023 with hopes of kickstarting his career following an underwhelming two-year Pompey spell.

Signing a two-year deal, much was expected of the ex-Manchester United man, however it has swiftly turned sour Down Under, with Tunnicliffe long out of favour under boss Carl Veart.

Indeed, he’s been included in just one of their league squads this season, with no suggestion of injury problems influencing his absence.

That outing came against Central Coast Mariners in December, when Tunnicliffe appeared as a 91st-minute substitute in a 4-0 success for Adelaide.

According to Wyscout, the 32-year-old had four touches - all successful passes. Yet that remains his sole involvement in their A-League campaign to date.

With five matches remaining, their season is scheduled to finish this month, although claiming sixth place and above would prolong it through qualification for the finals series.

Regardless, Tunncliffe’s contract expires once the campaign is over - and it’s fair to say neither party will be interested in exploring a new deal.

The writing has long been on the wall for the much-travelled midfielder, who initially slipped out of contention during the second half of the 2023-24 season.

Tunnicliffe started promisingly enough, scoring on his second appearance after coming off the bench in a 6-0 victory over Melbourne City in October 2023.

However, he ended the campaign on the bench for 11 of Adelaide’s 12 final matches, unused in four of them.

In total, he featured 22 times, of which 10 were as a substitute, while, in terms of goalscoring, he never added to that Melbourne effort.

Preceding the current league season last summer, the Reds embarked on their Australia Cup campaign, with Tunnicliffe totalling just 44 minutes over four appearances.

Once the A-League kicked off on October 26 against Central Coast Mariners, he found himself out of the squad - and that situation has barely changed throughout the season.

Promising Pompey start

Tunnicliffe had previously been at Pompey, where he totalled 69 games and three goals after arriving on a free transfer from Luton in June 2021.

Recruited by Danny Cowley, the midfielder began life at Fratton Park in impressive style, scoring once and bagging three assists in his opening four appearances.

However, a hamstring injury sustained against Bolton in October 2021 halted that eye-catching early form, sidelining him for three months, and he never quite recaptured it.

Tunnicliffe started John Mousinho’s first match as head coach in January 2023, which was a 2-0 victory over Exeter in League One.

However, after starting regularly under the new boss, he was left out of the squad for the final three matches - and the Blues opted against taking up their 12-month option.

Tunniclife left in the summer of 2023 along with Clark Robertson, Kieron Freeman, Michael Jacobs, Louis Thompson and Jayden Reid.

He will be on the move again this summer, although having totalled just 23 appearances in two years Down Under.

Your Next Pompey Read: Hugely popular Pompey title-winning pair reunite in League Two