Portsmouth boss explains why deal for Charlton new boy MacGillivray didn’t add up

Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley has revealed that keeping Craig MacGillivray did not make financial sense for the club.

The 28-year-old’s contract expired at Fratton Park this summer – Cowley choosing not to activate a club option to extend the keeper’s contract by an additional 12 months – and he signed for Charlton Athletic yesterday.

MacGillivray is Nigel Adkin’s second signing of the summer after penning a two-year-deal the The Valley.

Speaking to the Portsmouth News, Cowley said: “The option [to extend his contract] had a significant increase to what Craig was earning, so then you have to weigh it up.

“Ultimately, you can only value any player within your budget. That’s what you have to do. So it doesn’t matter how much you like a player or want a player, you have to value them in the financial parameters you have available.

“Craig is a really solid League One goalkeeper, definitely a goalkeeper that can play at the end of this division, which has been proven.

“We like certain attributes in our goalkeepers, it makes them different to the ones that Craig has.

“He adapted really well to what we asked of him. He was certainly improving in that area as the weeks unfolded at the back end of the season.

“Pre-covid, the financial football looked different compared to post-covid, the market value has changed somewhat. I wish Craig nothing but the best.”