Transfer Rumours – IN

By: b-man | June 6th, 2008

Shanun Wright-Phillips

Chelsea winger SWP has been linked with the club recently. He is similar to Jermain Defoe when he was at Spurs in the sense that he’s a fantastic player but never plays! The Chelsea man looked as if he was getting a good run in the side until Avram Grant took charge and then it was back to the bench for Wright-Phillips.

I along with probably all Pompey fans would love to see Shaun at Pompey. I think he’s just what we need. While Utaka has done okay on the right this season, a lot of the time he has looked short of ideas and he seems to just run in straight lines, relying too heavily on his pace. SWP on the other hand can beat men and deliver a final ball. He’s also good for a few goals.

Here’s what Harry Redknapp had to say:

“I haven’t spoke to anyone at Chelsea,” he told The News. “But I like Shaun. He’s a terrific talent. I wouldn’t know how much Chelsea wanted for him, though, if they were going to sell.

“Maybe they would want to wait until a new manager comes in. But equally they may not need a new manager to come in before they sell someone. I wouldn’t know how Chelsea run their affairs.

“The player may want to wait until a new manager comes in and have a look at things then. But maybe he would look at his situation there and think he wanted to leave.

“Of course he’s the type of player I would love to have, though. He’s an excellent player.”

If I was to put a price on SWP I would probably think around £8million was reasonable. While Chelsea did pay £21million for him, I think it’s fair to say his value has decreased from then.

Sidney Govou

I like the look of this potential transfer purely because of the fee being thrown around- £6million. I think that would be a good deal on Pompey’s part because Govou is a great player, proven at the highest level.

He’s a player that can help Pompey progress and he’d help improve the team for next season’s Uefa Cup campaign.

A right midfielder like SWP, the advantages with Govou over Wright-Phillips are the price tag and the greater expereince of Govou.

If I had to choose one I’d probably go with SWP. But it could be possible to accomadate both in the squad.

Marcelo Mattos

I know very little about this player other than the fact that he’s Brazilian, plays for Panathinaikos and is a central midfielder. Looking at our squad we don’t desperately need another CM however I don’t know enough about him to make any real comments.

Nicky Shorey

YES! Simple as that. This deal must go through! If there’s one area of the team that needs improving it is left back. Hemanator and Pamarot have done okay playing there this season, but that’s exactly it, they’ve done ‘okay’. While the rest of the team have stood out, the left back spot has always been less sparkling.

Shorey is first and foremost a good defender. He can work well in terms of positioning with the three other defenders, he knows when to come accross on the cover and when to push on to his man etc.

He’s also very good going forward. Something than Herman in particular is poor at.

Shorey is at a good age and looks to be available at a good fee. The fee is said to be around £3million.

Richard Dunne

The Man. City hard man has had a fantastic season. He’s shone imensely throughout the campaign and has proved that he is a top quality centre back. His performance(s) against rivals United inparticular were heroic.

His positional sense is up there with best in the Premiership. Part of the reason Micah Richards did so well at Cebtre Back was that when Richards was positionally poor, Dunne would always ‘clean up’ after young Micah. He’s also shown what an inspirational leader he can be.

If he could link up with Sylvan Distin again then I think they could form another great partnership. While my beloved Sol ‘n’ Sylv have been outstanding this season, there’s no doubting that towards the end of the season Sol was looking more and more weary. I’m not sure if Sol has another full season left in him. Therefore it’s imperative that we bring in another CB, and Dunne would be my first choice, especially considering his low price tag of £1million.

“I like Richard Dunne,” said manager Harry Redknapp. “I think he’s a top player but I think there’s a couple of clubs in for him at the moment, but I think we’ve got as good a chance as anyone now.

“We’ve got in the UEFA Cup for next year and we’ve got some good players so hopefully we can start to compete with the Tottenham’s and the Aston Villa’s and teams like that.”