Portsmouth!?

[Ebonix]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/5196466.stm

Portsmouth are on the verge of signing Portuguese midfielder Manuel Fernandes for a club record £10m, reports BBC Radio Solent.

The 20-year-old Benfica player is expected to have a medical on Thursday before discussing personal terms.

If Fernandes signs the deal would smash Portsmouth's previous record of the £4m paid for Benjani Mwaruwari in January.

Fernandes was set to fly into the UK on Wednesday after Portsmouth reached an agreement in principle with Benfica.

Fernandes is a product of Benfica's youth system who made his first-team debut during the 2003/04 season, under then coach Jose Antonio Camacho.

He was part of the Portugal youth team that reached the quarter-finals of the Fifa U17 World Championship.

In February 2005 he made his international debut for the senior team against the Republic of Ireland but he missed out on selection for Portugal's world Cup squad in Germany.
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Uhh, why are Portsmouth being linked to everyone all of a sudden?

and not just anyone, actual good players. Who would want to play at their ground?

 

[adj137]

Hasn't Gaydamark (or whatever his name is) bought the club outright, word is on the street he's the next Abrahmovich.

Clearly they've got ambition, and better yet they have Big Harry for another year. Personally i quite like their stadium - it's cosy

 

[Brondbyfan]

It's going to be a tough sell convincing a player worth £10 million to play at Portsmouth, no matter how much money they have. Constantly in the relegation mix, sub-20,000 seat stadium, money can't fix this overnight. Just dumping a bunch of expensive players into the team does not work - see Milan, Inter.

BTW Ebonix, who is that in your avatar?

 

[Filipower]

haha, word on the street, who is he Bow Wow?

 

[Moreira_Benfica]

anyone who wants to know somethig about Manuel Fernandes, some clips here



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XY9iE55_08&search=manuel fernandes

 

[Nuno]

I don't know what to think about this move. I was hoping he'd go to a bigger club. he certainly has the talent. I guess we'll see what happens.....

 

[Zlatan]

Doesn't surprise me at all, they wanted to pay +-15 million for a small fat ocean-diver.

 

[adj137]

haha, word on the street, who is he Bow Wow?

Damn Right, i hear his take over bid was financed by the Dog.

edit - actually it's still " 'lil bow wow"

 

[MaSsiVe]

Manuel Fernandes will be huge, awesome deal for Portsmouth.

 

[ScimitarPES2]

That'll be another step in the right direction for Portsmouth.

Fratton Park is currently being redeveloped as well, and once all the work is finished Pompey will have a great stadium with a capacity of 35000.

 

[Ebonix]

That'll be another step in the right direction for Portsmouth.

Fratton Park is currently being redeveloped as well, and once all the work is finished Pompey will have a great stadium with a capacity of 35000.

Fratton Park & Great Stadium in the same statement? Your 'avin a laugh sonny!

 

[Virgo]

I absolutely hate these mini-Chelseas sprouting up everywhere.

Manuel Fernandes went there for the cash and cash only. He'll play for a smaller club and will earn 6x more than what he makes at Benfica and as he's a kid, he doesn't have the maturity to see that he could wait another year or 2 and get an even bigger contract in one of the big guns in europe. Of course his agent pushed and convinced him to leave because he wants his cut.

I'm sure he'll be signed in a year or two by one of the bigger clubs in England.

What a waste of a player though. To think Manchester United is fielding absolute crap like Fletcher in their midfield and bidding like £15M for average players like Carrick, when this kid would be cheaper and is head and shoulders better than Carrick already, not even thinking how he'll be in 2 or 3 years.

 

[Moreira_Benfica]

Jose Mourinho is known to be an avid admirer of the Benfica star. The 'Special One' went as far as to compare his young compatriot to Claude Makelele, stating that the Portuguese midfielder was better than the Frenchman at the same age.


man i cant belive we let him go (i knew he was gonna leave us, but not for a team like portsmouth, like Virgo said he could have went to man u if they had interest in him

 

[Brondbyfan]

What a waste of a player though. To think Manchester United is fielding absolute crap like Fletcher in their midfield and bidding like £15M for average players like Carrick, when this kid would be cheaper and is head and shoulders better than Carrick already, not even thinking how he'll be in 2 or 3 years.

But Virgo, Carrick and Fletcher are British and therefore worth more money!

All kidding aside, I seem to recall a transfer fee of £2 million or so being touted for Fletcher so I don't think he's considered in the same league.

 

[TOON ARMY]

Fratton Park & Great Stadium in the same statement? Your 'avin a laugh sonny!

It's not pleasing on the eye and is located right in the middle of a slum, but i tell you something in terms of atmosphere it ****s all over Old Trafford, SJP, Anfield, etc

 

[Fernandez]

It's not pleasing on the eye and is located right in the middle of a slum, but i tell you something in terms of atmosphere it ****s all over Old Trafford, SJP, Anfield, etc

The tamborines... Portsmouth have a good manager. Let's see where they'll be at the end.

 

[TheBlueBalla]

It's going to be a tough sell convincing a player worth £10 million to play at Portsmouth, no matter how much money they have. Constantly in the relegation mix, sub-20,000 seat stadium, money can't fix this overnight. Just dumping a bunch of expensive players into the team does not work - see Milan, Inter.

BTW Ebonix, who is that in your avatar?

New money saved their asses in 3 short months and took a relegation straggler back from the certain brink. Theyre not stupid enough to try and bring superstars to Portsmouth, and a up and coming great like Fernandes is a big step in the right direction. D'Alessandro (yes, I know he is gone), Johnson, and other young players with something to prove thrown into the mix will make Pompey a force to be reckoned with this season, and im sure Harry and Gaydamak arent nearly done yet.

I would go so far as to say that Portsmouth will be top half finishers if they make moves as astute as were their winter signings. Theyre about as good as clubs like Fulham, Villa, Charlton or City right now, nevermind when the summer is over

 

[thetrooper37]

They might also be signing Stilian Petrov if Celtic let him go...

 

[Brondbyfan]

New money saved their asses in 3 short months and took a relegation straggler back from the certain brink. Theyre not stupid enough to try and bring superstars to Portsmouth, and a up and coming great like Fernandes is a big step in the right direction. D'Alessandro (yes, I know he is gone), Johnson, and other young players with something to prove thrown into the mix will make Pompey a force to be reckoned with this season, and im sure Harry and Gaydamak arent nearly done yet.

I would go so far as to say that Portsmouth will be top half finishers if they make moves as astute as were their winter signings. Theyre about as good as clubs like Fulham, Villa, Charlton or City right now, nevermind when the summer is over

The problem as I see it is that Redknapp seems too intent on remaking the team entirely in his own image. This could potentially lead to doing a lot more work and spending a lot more money than necessary. Not to mention the decrease in team chemistry. The problem with bringing in "young players with something to prove" is that they aren't going to stick around if they do prove something. Unless they can maintain a top-10 finish next season all of their players will move on.

 

[RUSI]

I hear he is a lot like Claude Makelele

I think his nickname is Manalele :P

I wish we woiuld make a bid for him, but his name is too small for us to even think about him