Yakubu and Faye set to head Portsmouth's January exodus
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Your support makes all the difference.Portsmouth are set to sell their striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni for around £8m. Three Premiership clubs - including last night's opponents Everton - are in talks about signing the Nigerian, still just 22, who is unlikely to be the only player to leave Fratton Park during the transfer window.
Portsmouth are set to sell their striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni for around £8m. Three Premiership clubs - including last night's opponents Everton - are in talks about signing the Nigerian, still just 22, who is unlikely to be the only player to leave Fratton Park during the transfer window.
Aston Villa are close to completing a £2m move for the midfielder Amdy Faye - who was put up for sale last month by Portsmouth's chairman Milan Mandaric - while Eyal Berkovic will be allowed to go. At the same time Patrik Berger, whose contract expires this summer, has made it clear he has no intention of signing a new deal. He is prepared to sit out the remainder of his contract, which may force Portsmouth's hand in trying to secure a fee. Villa also hope to finalise a £3m move for the Newcastle defender Andy O'Brien.
Any move for Yakubu - who has scored 28 goals in 63 games - is complicated by the fact that he is part-owned by his former club, Maccabi Haifa. Portsmouth have placed a £12m price tag on the player but his agents, who include Barry Silkman, expect that a lower price will eventually be agreed. Silkman is keen for Yakubu to leave the club and confirmed yesterday that he believed the player would be sold.
"I think he will leave this month," he said. Interested clubs are likely to include Tottenham Hotspur and Villa while Chelsea have also inquired about Yakubu in the past as, it is believed, have Liverpool.
Silkman is also representing the defender Abel Xavier and midfielder Alex Nyarko who are both out of contract and are on trial at Southampton who, despite the activity at Fratton Park, are still likely to be the busier South Coast club this month.
Having sold James Beattie to Everton for £6m, a move which was confirmed yesterday, the former Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, now in charge at Southampton, will decide on Friday whether to sign either player and is also monitoring the progress of Stéphane Henchoz's talks with Rangers and is still considering a bid for his Liverpool team-mate Igor Biscan. The wages of both, however, may be prohibitive, especially as Liverpool also want fees.
But Redknapp did,secure two players from Spurs yesterday, including his 31-year-old son Jamie, who has signed a six-month pay-as-you-play contract at St Mary's after turning down a coaching role at White Hart Lane. Redknapp was allowed to leave on a free transfer and is joined by the promising central defender Calum Davenport, who has signed on loan until the end of the season. Both players will make their debuts tonight at home to Fulham.Southampton may also move for Charlton Athletic's Paul Konchesky.
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