Thank you and goodbye: Low-key exit for popular Portsmouth man as departure confirmed

Ronan Curtis’ Pompey career has officially ended.

The Republic of Ireland international has departed Fratton Park following the completion of his rehabilitation programme and is currently seeking a new club.

According to John Mousinho, the 27-year-old bid his farewells around two weeks ago, with the Blues’ duty of care now at an end.

It represents a low-key exit for a player who netted 57 goals in 226 appearances and established himself as a popular figure among the Fratton faithful through his passion and commitment.

Nonetheless, it had long been established that Curtis would leave once he had recovered from ACL damage to his left knee sustained in February against Bolton.

Pompey had offered a new deal, which was rejected by the winger in the summer - and there were to be no further negotiations.

Mousinho told The News: ‘Ronan is not around any more, he hasn’t been here for a couple of weeks.

‘Obviously after he turned the contract down in the summer the intention was to make sure we provided him with everything we possibly could to make sure he was back and fit.

‘Now he has gone to find something somewhere else and we wish him the best of luck.

‘Ronan was great to have around the place, credit to him, if you are coming in and aren’t necessarily a signed-up squad member, that can be difficult.

‘However, he conducted himself really well and we’d like to think we did the same for him in terms of making sure we gave him access to that top-class rehab.

‘He has been here for a number of years and will be sorely missed by everybody, he’s a popular figure among the Fratton faithful.’

Curtis arrived at Fratton Park from Derry for an undisclosed fee in May 2018, signed by Kenny Jackett manager.

He went on to register double figures for goals in each of his opening four seasons, while earning Republic of Ireland recognition, with seven caps.

Had it not been for his serious injury, he could well have also reached that tally last term, having netted seven goals at that time.

Regardless, Curtis was a huge success on the south coast, featuring in two EFL Trophy finals at Wembley and two play-off semi-final campaigns.

Now a player once linked with Championship interest has a fresh start and will undoubtedly attract attention from other clubs.

Mousinho added: ‘We saw Ronan’s reasons for turning down the contract in the summer, that’s absolutely fine, and if he wants to explore options elsewhere then there’s nothing we can do about that.

‘We had that duty of care to make sure he was up to scratch in terms of fitness and are happy with that. It has been a long comeback for Ronan and we’d like to see him - wherever he ends up - fit, firing and back to the level we know he is capable of.’