Portsmouth target Mattsson heading for Championship as advanced talks held
Portsmouth have identified Pelle Mattsson as the man to fill to solve the centre midfield woes.
The Blues need new midfield enforcers, having relied heavily on loan signings in that position last season.
A move for the Danish star seemed more likely after he was left out of the latest friendly match for his team IF Silkeborg.
Now, it’s being reported that Mattsson is in ‘advanced talks’ to seal a transfer.
Mattsson is in advanced talks to join Norwich City
There has been a lot of excitement surrounding Mattson’s potential transfer to Portsmouth, although there is competition for his signature.
And it now looks as if Pompey are going to lose the battle to sign him.
Viasport (14 July) reports that Mattsson is in ‘advanced talks’ to join Norwich City.
Norwich and Silkeborg are believed to be negotiating over a fee, and it has been suggested they could stump up around £2.2million to seal the transfer.
Mattsson had previously admitted he’d love to play in England, which many Pompey fans saw as a green light for them to seal a deal. However, it appears as if they’ve been pipped to the post by a Championship rival with more money to spend on transfers.
Mattsson deal highlights difficulty of the transfer market for Portsmouth
It’s not a new story for Portsmouth to be outbid by a Championship rival for one of their key targets.
It happened when Abu Kamara joined Hull and Alex Robertson signed for Cardiff last summer, and Pompey fans still haven’t stopped talking about it.
| Club | Appearances | Goals |
| IF Silkeborg | 100 | 5 |
Portsmouth sought out alternative targets and finished above both teams in the league. That’s testament to the resolve and expertise of Pompey’s recruitment team.
The club is seemingly going through similar frustrations this summer. It must be annoying to miss out on targets this way, especially with players from obscure leagues who aren’t on everyone’s radar. Sadly, it only takes one team to outbid you. That’s the reality for teams like Portsmouth who are financial underdogs of their division.
Still, fans will trust John Mousinho and Rich Hughes to ultimately attract the players needed to meet Portsmouth’s expectations.
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