Pompey swoop for Robert

PORTSMOUTH have signed winger Laurent Robert for an undisclosed fee from Newcastle.

The 30-year-old Frenchman has joined Pompey on a three-year deal after Newcastle boss Graeme Souness made it clear he did not figure in his first-team plans for next season.

Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie said: "We are delighted with this signing and I think it shows everybody not only our intentions, but some of the top players ambitions for the future."

A Newcastle spokesman confirmed: "Laurent Robert has completed his move from Newcastle United to Portsmouth."

Although the fee is undisclosed, it is sure to represent a massive loss on the £10.5m Newcastle paid to Paris St Germain for the player in August 2001.

Robert's agent Willie McKay confirmed the player was returning from a break on his native Reunion Island to speak to the south coast club.

Robert said: "I had a phone call with [Portsmouth manager] Alain Perrin.

"As all the French coaches in England, he has come to build something great.

He wants to work on the long term and that is why he has approached me.

"I was attracted by Portsmouth. Since Perrin joined the club late last season, the players have had fun."

Bolton had also spoken to Robert's representatives as well, but Sam Allardyce conceded they were some way off an agreement with the player.

Toulouse were also understood to be interested in taking the player back to France but he has now decided his future lies at Fratton Park.

Robert's erratic form was frustrating for Newcastle fans and managers alike he had run-ins with Bobby Robson and more recently his successor Souness.

Robert claimed the club had gone backwards under the Scot, just prior to the Magpies' UEFA Cup quarter-final second leg against Sporting Lisbon, a match they lost.

Meanwhile, Ipswich goalkeeper Kelvin Davis finally clinched his £1.25m move to Sunderland yesterday as Mick McCarthy took his spending to more than £3m in 24 hours.

Just a day after landing Blackburn striker Jon Stead for £1.8m, the Black Cats' boss welcomed Davis to the Stadium of Light to sign a four-year deal after a delay over his personal terms.

"It is a big step for me leaving Ipswich and I needed to know the move was the right one," said the 28-year-old.

"Sunderland are a huge club with great support and I am now really looking forward to next season and the challenge of keeping the team in the top flight.

Davis becomes Sunderland's fourth signing of the summer after the arrivals of Waterford striker Daryl Murphy, Gillingham full-back Nyron Nosworthy and Stead, and McCarthy is delighted to have recruited the former Wimbledon goalkeeper.