Anyway....
After a long, drawn out saga it looks as if England international defender Sol Campbell is finally going to play for Pompey. Sol had a medical today and looks set to join us on a one-year deal worth £40,000 a week. If the signing does happen then it would certainly be a coup for a club like Pompey and you'd have to wonder how Harry managed to persuade Sol to join us ahead of reported lucrative offers from Marsielle and Fenerbahce. I'm sure a bigger wage packet probably swayed him a bit but I wouldn't mind betting Tony Adams had his part to play in getting him here in the first place too.
So what would we be getting for 40k a week? It seems a lot of money to pay for a 31 year old whose best days look behind him, however consider these factors:
- He's still a quality centre back. Better than Stefanovic, Primus, O'Brien and Pamarot certainly. He has proved how good he can still be with a great performance in the Champions League final as well as top class performances for Arsenal over the years, marred only by a dip in form due to the paperazzi poking their noses into his private life.
- His experience will be vital to the team. He's played in many games at the highest level which can only benefit the current squad. Also he's not going to be a problem in the dressing room, he doesn't have much of an ego despite who he is. He could well be a role model for our younger players.
- He scores goals. He scored against Barcelona in the Champions League, his aerial threat cannot be under-estimated. Also I'm sure we remember the 35 yard screamer he scored at Fratton Park two seasons ago! Harry likes his teams to carry goal threats in every part of the team and Sol would help provide that.
- The name. We have been struggling to sign any big name players because we are failing to show our ambition on the pitch. Signing a big name player like Sol Campbell will show other potential new signings that we mean business.
So despite the high wages, I do believe we'll be getting value for money. Of course, the whole thing could fall through and Sol might not join us after all. Harry seems confident of signing him though and the signing could be announced tommorow. Let's keep our fingers crossed on this one!
Campbell isn't the only one who looks set to be joining us, as reports also suggest that Man City defender Sylvain Distin can't agree terms at his current club and City have decided to cash in on him, with Pompey reportedly offering £4 million for his services. In fact, some sources say that he's going to have a medical at the club later this week.
I like Distin, he's strong and solid and has a bit of pace about him despite being prone to the odd mistake. Again, he's certainly a better central defender than we currently have at the club. I like the prospect of a Campbell and Distin partnership (insert awful Campbell homosexual joke here), it certainly looks a far better partnership than that of Stefanovic and Pamarot. That's no disrespect to the two latter players I just feel that Campbell and Distin are a significant step up from our current selection of defenders.
Juan Manuel Vargas is the third name in the hat to join Pompey. Vargas' impending signing has been covered in a previous article and it's suggested he will sign sooner rather than later.
It's very possible that we could have a trio of defenders signed before the end of next week and that is something that is bound to put a smile on every Pompey fan!