The Portsmouth reject now linking up with former favourites away from Fratton as former Cardiff City man lands deal amid Sheffield Wednesday talk
He played for AFC Portchester and was turned down by Pompey as a youngster - but now he’s linking up with some familiar faces after playing in the Championship.
Andy Rinomhota has agreed a deal with League One outfit Reading.
The former AFC Portchester man, who went to Portsmouth College and Cams Hill School in Fareham as a youngster, has sealed a move to the Royals until the end of the season.
Rejected by Pompey - but now Rinomhota is with Fratton favourites
Rinomhota has been on the lookout for a new club after his three-year stay with Cardiff came to a close in the summer.
The likes of Sheffield Wednesday were credited with interest in the 28-year-old, who was overlooked by Pompey’s academy as a youngster.
But it’s the Royals who have moved to bring in the Zimbabwe international, after Leam Richardson’s appointment as Noel Hunt’s successor last month. The pair are acquainted with each other after time spent with Rotherham, with the former Pompey assistant manager making the move to bolster his squad with Rinomhota’s quality.
Rinomhota spent the 2013-14 season with Portchester after the Blues turned him down after a trial, before he attended the Steve Claridge Football Foundation.
Beyond Richardson, Reading already have strong links with Pompey with Matt Ritchie moving to Berkshire after leaving PO4 in the summer. He followed League One title winner Paddy Lane who also went to the club at the end of July, with Brighton and former Fratton striker Mark O’Mahoney on loan at the third-tier outfit.
Rinomhota expressed his delight at returning to the club he moved to from Wicor Rec a decade ago - and linking up with Richardson once again.
He told the club’s YouTube channel: ‘It’s good to be back. There’s a lot of nostalgia and it’s good to be back, even just seeing some familiar faces.
‘I’ve been here for the past week and it feels good. Training has been good, the new manager has come in and I’ve worked with him before.
‘So I’ve been used to how he is with training and being back at these top facilities has been good.
‘I had a short spell with him at Rotherham, probably three or four months.
‘I’ve worked with him before and it was a good experience under him. The situation wasn’t the best but he’s a good manager and I like his style, it suits me well so hopefully I fit in nicely.’
Rinomhota: ‘I always thought Portsmouth may come looking’
Rinomhota’s Reading move means there will be no Fratton switch for a player who has previously spoken of how he thought he’d one day wear royal blue.
Speaking to The News when playing against Pompey in the Checkatrade Trophy in 2016, he said: ‘I’m from Portchester so it’s good being back here.
‘My parents were down. My partner and her dad and a few mates who I’ve seen, too.
‘I could have been playing for Pompey, but I wasn’t picked up so I went to Reading.
‘Now I’m back here and it was a weird experience.
‘I was at Portchester for a good five or six years coming through the youth set-up and into the first team.
‘I always thought Portsmouth may come looking but they didn’t in the end. Thankfully I got picked up by Reading.
‘It’s worked out for me. I ended up at Reading. I’m not going to complain at that! I’ve been at the club for a year and a bit and it’s been an unbelievable experience.
‘I’ll always have a soft spot for Pompey, though, and the accent will stay in me!’