Reports are suggesting that Pompey are on the verge of signing Benfica midfielder Manuel Fernandes for what would be a club record fee of £10 million. Fernandes has been tipped as "the new Makelele" although from the clips I have seen of him it seems like he is more of a box to box player who can also play an attacking role as well as a defensive one. Staying on the subject of "box to box" midfielders John Viafara could well be a Scummer soon as reports suggest he's moving down the road to Southampton for a million pounds. Expect developments on these stories in the coming days.
Pompey have also had an £8.5 million bid for West Brom starlet Curtis Davies rejected and it's said that Bryan Robson wants a huge £10 million for the 21 year old defender. Some reports are saying that we will up the offer to The Baggies' asking price whilst others reckon we'll make a £10.5 million bid for both Davies and wantaway midfielder Zoltan Gera. Make of this situation what you will although ten million quid for a relatively unproven player in the top flight is very steep, though I'm reliably informed he's worth something near that price.
Once again Pompey have been linked with former boss Alain Perrin with Harry supposedly keen on Sochaux midfielder Jaouad Zairi who has had a trial with the club. The journo's have also reborn the Soulemayne Diawara link, seeing as I'm sure a few Pompey fans have forgotten that we're still interested in him if you believe the press....
Nicholas Anelka is also reportedly going to join us for a £7.5 million fee from Fenerbahce, or on loan depending on which gutter rag you read.
All of these names linked, yet still no permanent deals and we begin our pre-season campaign tommorow at Torquay. There's still no reason to panic too much yet, as there's still plenty of time to sign players. However I do realise I will keep saying this and time is going to fly by and before we know it we'll be playing Blackburn with a threadbare squad. I'm sure Harry has it all under control (or Storrie, or Sacha etc...)