Ronan Curtis set to force move to Portsmouth as Derry resigned to losing attacker

Ronan Curtis looks to be on the verge of making a move to League One outfit Portsmouth.

The St Johnston man scored a first-half hat-trick last night in Derry’s 7-3 win over Shelbourne in the EA Sports Cup at the Brandywell.

Derry manager Kenny Shiels had previously stated that Curtis would not be going to Fratton Park, but that appears to have changed in the weeks since.

Curtis last year had been subject to a bid from Swedish club Ostersunds, but the move fell through.

Shiels, at least, hopes to have Curtis for Derry’s Europa League campaign.

“It’s my club who will make the final decision on that but we hope to have him here for the summer,” said Shiels.

“We want to work on the principle that when we exit from Europe the player can go which is the logical step. But I’m really not in a position to say what his position is.”