Portsmouth boss reveals his plans for unleashing Newcastle United arrival on Championship ahead of Leeds United opener

And the Blues boss is pleased with the sharpness of the Gosport lad ahead of his side’s return to the second tier at Leeds United.

Ritchie provided the Fratton faithful with a huge lift ahead of the new campaign, after confirming his homecoming on Tuesday night.

One of the immediate questions was where does John Mousinho see the 34-year-old fitting in to his side for what lies ahead this season?

Ritchie has played down both flanks, as well as operating as left-back and left wing-back in recent campaigns.

Mousinho revealed it’s in the three attacking positions behind the striker in his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, where the former Scotland man will be utilised in the months ahead.

He said: ‘I think there’s a lot of flexibility there, I think he’s a very good technical player.

‘When you’ve got players who can handle the ball and understand the game, I think they can play in a variety of positions.

‘Certainly where I see him now is anywhere in behind the number nine, he’s good enough to play in any one of those front three positions or adapt to anywhere we put him.

‘He’s played more as left winger, but a player of his calibre should be able to fit in there (the 10 position) and adjust really well.’

‘He has been flexible where he’s played in his career, whether it’s been as a left winger or right winger.

‘He’s played as a 10, a left wing-back and left-back at times. I think he has a lot of potential to be versatile and that’s a really important point for us in terms of bringing certain players in.

‘It (playing left-back or wing-back) won’t be an immediate consideration, in terms of where we are at the moment. We definitely see him more as an attacking player.’

One of the big talking points now going into the Leeds opener, is whether Ritchie is viewed as ready to feature against Danie Farke’s title favourites.

He has been training with Bournemouth in pre-season and is renowned for his professionalism and levels of fitness.

Ritchie has had just a couple of training sessions with his new team-mates going into this weekend, however.

Mousinho added: ‘Matt hasn’t played any pre-season minutes competitively, but he’s been training with Bournemouth’s under-21s. That gives him a real leg-up in terms of him versus other free transfers who haven’t been training or with clubs.

‘So he’s come in quite sharp today and looked quite sharp when we did a little session yesterday afternoon.

‘I think the training sharpness and fitness isn’t going to be a problem, it’s just the match fitness and minutes we need to get into his legs which will develop over the next couple of weeks.’