Ryley Towler leaves 'special' message to those he's left behind at Portsmouth after signing 4-year deal at Lincoln
Ryley Towler has left Pompey after two-and-a-half years with the Blues
Ryley Towler has paid a special tribute to the fans after waving goodbye to Pompey.
The defender, who had been with the club since January 2023, has left the Blues on a permanent basis by joining League One Lincoln City.
The 23-year-old - who did not travel with the rest of his Fratton Park team-mates to Bratislava for a warm-weather training camp - has signed a four-year deal with the Imps, with Pompey receiving an undisclosed fee for the centre-back.
It’s understood that the Blues have made a profit on the Bristol City youth product, who had one year remaining on his PO4 contract.
Towler leaves Fratton Park after making 42 appearances and scoring two goals, He featured six times for Pompey when they won the League One title in 2023-24 and made 12 Championship appearances last term as John Mousinho’s side finished 16th in the second tier table.
However, he found himself increasingly down the pecking order last season, despite Pompey’s central defensive injury woes, with a move away from Fratton Park always highly probable during the current transfer window.
Despite difficulties in nailing down a consistent place in Mousinho’s starting XI, the former Grimsby and AFC Wimbledon loanee remained a huge favourite of the fans.
It was, therefore, no surprise that he thanked the PO4 supporters for their unwavering support during his two-and-a-half years on the south coast.
Posting on Instagram following news if his departure, Towler wrote: ‘Special Fans. Thank you for the incredible memories @pompey
‘A massive mention to the fans who been unbelievable throughout my time. Thank you .’
Lincoln excited by Ryler Towler arrival
Towler’s last appearance for Pompey came back in January, when he started the 5-1 defeat at WBA.
He was either an unused substitute or not included in the match-day for the remainder of Pompey’s 18 league games.
Despite that lack of game time, Lincoln boss Michael Skubala and and director of football Jez George are both delughted they’ve been able to land the defender on a permanent basis.
Skubala told the Imps’ website: ‘Ryley is a left-footed, multi-functional defender with all of the attributes we value and the flexibility to play in three defensive positions for us. He is a brilliant addition to our defensive unit and will add qualities to our group with a different skillset to our other defenders.
‘Ryley started 10 games in the Championship last season, having helped Portsmouth win promotion from this league, and is ready to come in and contribute immediately as well as having a high ceiling for his future development.’
George added: ‘This is a market opportunity that we couldn’t miss. We have tracked Ryley since he was a young player at Bristol City, seen him progress at Portsmouth and worked really hard to make this happen once we knew that he could be available and wanted to make his next move based on a footballing decision.
‘Ryley is 6ft 4in, left footed, good in possession, quick and only 23 years old with huge potential so this is a really exciting signing for us.’
Lincoln finished 11th in last season’s League One table
For your next Pompey read: Portsmouth and Mark Kosznovszky update after Blues and Swansea linked with transfer interest