Portsmouth ‘could land bargain Nuamah transfer’ after Brescia bombshell
Portsmouth are seeking to improve their squad ahead of the new Championship season.
The South Coast club have a smaller transfer budget than most of their rivals and have been targeting up-and-coming overseas players, who are generally available for smaller transfer fees.
Brescia winger Patrick Nuamah is believed to be one of their targets, and he could now join Pompey for free after a shocking update from the Italian club.
Nuamah could leave on a free as Brescia have professional status revoked
It was thought that Nuamah could be available for a cut-price deal due to Brescia’s financial issues.
However, it is now emerging that the Italian club could soon cease to exist.
The Italian football authorities confirmed on Thursday (3 July) that Brescia have had their licence to play in the professional leagues revoked.
This is due to their failure to pay debts to the league, their staff and their players, among other financial misdemeanours.
It means they will not compete in Serie C in their current form. In all likelihood, their players’ contracts will be terminated, transforming Nuamah and his teammates into free agents.
Portsmouth could benefit from Italian club’s demise
Portsmouth fans will find it hard to celebrate the collapse of Brescia.
The news may bring back memories of their own club’s financial hardships, during which they were days away from not having a team to support.
Even so, it does provide an advantage for Pompey. If they remain interested in signing 19-year-old winger Nuamah, they likely won’t have to pay a transfer fee.
It’s unclear whether it’s possible for a last-minute miracle can save Brescia. There’s no immediate sign of that happening.
| Notable former Brescia players |
| Roberto Baggio |
| Pep Guardiola |
| Gheorghe Hagi |
| Andrea Pirlo |
| Luca Toni |
The most likely outcome is that the club will be rebranded and start from scratch in Italy’s bottom league, as Rangers famously had to do in 2012. Parma had to do the same in 2015. It means Brescia’s 114-year history will be wiped out.
The news puts Portsmouth’s tag of the Championship’s ‘financial underdogs’ into perspective. The Eisners are running the club (and improving it) sustainably, and that’s something that supporters should never take for granted.
Sign up for the Pompey News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Portsmouth news sent straight to your phone.