Portsmouth forward Ronan Curtis is ready to begin contract talks with the club, according to The News Portsmouth.
The 27-yer old is Pompey’s current longest-serving player and is set to be out of contact with the club this summer. It’s reported Curtis’s preference is to stay at Fratton Park, however, the Irishman suffered an ACL injury during the team’s 3-1 win over Bolton Wanderers in February, and will need extensive time to recover.
Who Is Ronan Curtis?
Curtis joined Portsmouth in 2018 after leaving his youth club Derry City for a fee of £100,000. Since then, the forward has made nearly 200 appearances with the South Coast club and had 36 goal contributions in the league over the last three seasons.
When Will He Return From Injury?
The prolific goalscorer is coming off a major knee injury, which he had surgery on in March. ACL injuries tend to take six to nine months to recover from, however, depending on the severity, it can take over a year for a player to get back to full fitness.
That would therefore rule Curtis out till potentially the end of the year, where the winger could be healthy if a late push towards the end of the season is needed.
Can Pompey Afford To Pay An Injured Player?
Sporting directory Rich Hughes recently confirmed the club will have a larger budget for signings this transfer window, so if the two sides can agree on a new deal, Pompey would likely be able to afford it.
Writer’s View
Curtis is coming off a major injury and one of his more disappointing seasons for Portsmouth, however, there’s no denying his talent. The winger had three straight seasons of 17-goal contributions before this campaign, and could certainly help Pompey get back to their goal of reaching promotion. Agreeing to a new deal may be complex with the injury, though it certainly sounds like Curtis wants to remain at the club.
