Report: Decision made on former Portsmouth, Millwall and Luton midfielder after forgettable spell in A-League

Ryan Tunnicliffe’s time in Australia’s A-League looks up.

According to reports Down Under, the former Pompey midfielder will not have his Adelaide United contract renewed upon its expiry.

The 32-year-old signed a two-year deal with the Coopers Stadium outfit following his Blues release in 2023.

But with the ex-Manchester United trainee featuring just once for Carl Veart’s side in the league all season, it will come as no surprise to read that Tunnicliffe’s time in South Australia is coming to an end.

His current contract runs until June 30, with the player reportedly set to join Josh Cavallo in being allowed to leave Adelaide on a free transfer.

The news comes after Reds legends Isaias Sanchez and Javier Lopez announced their retirements. Meanwhile, head coach Veart - the man who brought Tunnicliffe to the club - is also leaving after guiding Adelaide to sixth place in this season’s A-League.

Ryan Tunnicliffe’s Adelaide career after Pompey exit

Tunnicliffe, who featured 60 times for Pompey in League One after being signed by Danny Cowley in 2021 following his Luton release, played just 27 times for Adelaide during his two-season stay with the club.

His career there started promisingly as the ex-Millwall midfielder scored on his second appearance after coming off the bench in a 6-0 win over Melbourne City.

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

Ahead of this season, the Reds embarked on their Australia Cup campaign, with Tunnicliffe totalling just 44 minutes over four appearances.

And once the A-League kicked off on October 26 against Central Coast Mariners, he found himself out of the squad completely.

Indeed, his one-minute cameo appearance against The Mariners on December 13 as a late substitute was his only involvement all term, with Tunicliffe left out of 25 match-day squads in total.

Ryan Tunnilciffe’s controversial first words as Adelaide player

Tunnicliffe left Pompey in the summer of 2023, after finding himself on the fringes of new boss John Mousinho’s side.

Upon his exit, he told reporters Down Under that his move there was ‘a step-up’ career-wise.

He said: ‘It’s an opportunity I don’t think I could turn down.

‘Speaking to people who have played out here before, they said Adelaide is in the top echelons of clubs in the A-League.

‘The league’s getting better, I think it’s a step up for me professionally to the level I’ve been playing at recently.

‘And obviously (the move) gets me out of my comfort zone. I’m a long way from home, trying something new. I’ve done the same thing for 10-12 years now so I think this is the sort of change I need to kick-on and improve.

‘I’m a bit older now. Doing the same thing you sort of stagnate. You play to them levels so now I want to test myself in a good league.

‘I’ve spoke to Warren Joyce (ex-Bolton player and Melbourne City manager) that’s been here recently and he said, it’s a tough league to play in and I’ll test myself against old different types of players.’

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