Three-and-a-half months and still waiting: Portsmouth's Matt Ritchie and right-wing headache rumbles on

The signs were unmistakable, not so much the planting of red flags, more a subtle indication of where Matt Ritchie’s playing time lay.

‘There have been plenty of players through the years who might have thought they’re going to have different roles going into the season - whether that’s playing or not playing - and managed to prove managers wrong,’ John Mousinho ominously told The News when addressing the veteran’s first-team chances for 2025-26.

A successful Championship season for the Blues had concluded days earlier, with customary one-to-one meetings between the head coach and players having also been held.

Mousinho subsequently spoke to the local media for one final time before the summer hiatus. Ritchie was rightly praised for a ‘terrific season’, then came the admission that the 35-year-old would be handed a reduced role in the starting XI moving ahead.

Certainly the implication was Pompey would be strengthening the right-wing area, recruiting a different profile of attacker to Ritchie, ideally mirroring the pace and directness of Josh Murphy on the opposite flank.

The reasoning was sound. Irrespective of his phenomenal fitness and commitment, the former Newcastle man would be turning 36 in September, having made 41 appearances in 2024-25, of which 28 where Championship starts.

However, that occurred at the start of May and - almost three-and-a-half months later - that new signing which bumped Ritchie down the pecking order has yet to turn up.

Six Portsmouth summer signings - but no conventional right winger

Pompey have added six players during the summer transfer window to date, of which Florian Bianchini and Yang Minhyeok have bolstered wing options and purportedly are capable of operating on either flank.

Nonetheless, both have primarily featured on the left during their early Blues days so far. Occupying the right-wing has instead been Callum Lang playing out of position, an Adrian Segecic cameo on Saturday and, in the Carabao Cup, Terry Devlin.

The hunt continues. Mousinho has made it clear he wants another wide player, and, in the meantime, Lang has joined Harvey Blair in the treatment room. As for Ritchie, he’s still searching for a new club, despite ongoing talks with Reading.

No war of words over Matt Ritchie situation

There is no coming back for the Gosport lad, that has been made absolutely clear. A departure is viewed as mutually beneficial for all parties involved and, effectively, is set in stone.

Mousinho hasn’t felt the need to disparage Ritchie or drum him out of Fratton Park with stinging words. His approach has been pragmatic and without antagonism.

As for Ritchie, he will not be commenting until a move has been clinched elsewhere. Still under contract, it is understandable for players in such scenarios to keep their counsel rather than savaging their employers.

As a consequence, the perception of the attacker’s sidelining is based solely upon one side of the story. No doubt it will become clearer over time, these matters always do.

In essence, this is a selection dispute between a head coach wanting to reduce a footballer’s playing time - and the player determined to start as many games as he is able during the twilight of his career.

Had Pompey replaced Matt Ritchie with a new right winger and first-team regular, most likely his ongoing absence would be attracting substantially less attention, particularly in the aftermath of defeats such as Norwich.

But, nearly three-and-a-half months after it was publicly mooted, Ritchie is here. And a new right winger isn’t.

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