John Mousinho is adamant Matt Macey’s Pompey departure is a decision that benefits all parties.

And the Blues manager expects the keeper to find a new home ‘at the top end of League One’ next season.

Macey was one of ten names told that their contracts would not be renewed when they expire this summer.

The 29-year-old was signed in the January transfer window after leaving Premier League Luton Town in September after two years at Kenilworth Road.

It provided Pompey with reliable backup after Ryan Schofield struggled in his first few appearances since joining the club in the summer.

With Will Norris dominating the league in the second half of the 2022-23 season, Macey was never called upon to add to his 21 appearances.

But his form at the time demonstrated the former Arsenal player’s abilities, and there was a clamour for his permanent signing before the Norris deal was completed.

Mousinho explained Pompey’s thinking behind the Macey decision, and there is no doubt that he can be an operator pushing for promotion to the Championship next season.

He stated: “With Matt, both sides are pretty happy with the decision.”

‘In terms of Matt, I believe if we had offered him a position as a backup keeper, he would have declined.

‘He wants to be number one somewhere, and I believe he can be.

‘We may be biased, but we believe he is more than capable of competing at the highest level of League One. He’s going to start his own football club.

‘He played towards the end of last season and provided us with stability. Then we knew if anything happened to Will, he had given us an option at the end of the year.

So we’ll do everything we can to make sure Matt plays regular football next season. It’s something he hasn’t had in a while, so getting it is extremely important to him.

GET MORE NEWS HERE