Portsmouth may make double Anfield swoop

Portsmouth are plotting a double swoop for Liverpool’s African stars El Hadji Diouf and Salif Diao, according to reports in the South Coast club’s local newspaper, The News.

Pompey have been in contact with Anfield over possible season-long loan deals for the Senegal international pair and Liverpool are anxious to offload the £15m (€22.4m) duo who have not impressed in their two seasons on Merseyside.

But the major stumbling block is that Pompey would still require Liverpool to pay a significant percentage of Diouf’s wages if the 2003 African Footballer of the Year went on loan to Fratton Park.

He was Liverpool’s second-biggest signing at £10m (€15m) from French club Lens two years ago after impressing during the World Cup finals and is reputed to earn around £50,000 (€74,800) a week.

But Diouf, 22, has not scored for 46 matches and his wages would be way beyond Portsmouth even though their own salary bill was popularly supposed to be one of the highest in the Premiership last season.

New Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez would rather sell Diouf and midfielder Diao, 27, and Pompey could even pick up the pair for a knockdown £4m, but as a second option Liverpool might consider letting the duo leave on loan.

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp is desperate to boost his squad after Russia captain Alexei Smertin confirmed he wants to fight for a place at Chelsea who loaned him to Pompey last season after signing him for around £4m (€6m) from Bordeaux.

Redknapp also looks likely to miss out on Newcastle striker Lomana Lua Lua who had a productive loan spell at Fratton Park last term but now looks set to join West Bromwich Albion.

Redknapp is close to signing Preston’s Jamaica forward Ricardo Fuller and chairman Milan Mandaric has opened negotiations with Panathinaikos over Greece’s Euro 2004 midfield star Angelos Basinas but Newcastle full-back Andy Griffin remains Portsmouth’s only significant summer signing – on a free transfer.

Meanwhile Pompey are trying to ship out former Celtic striker Mark Burchill, ex-West Ham full-back Sebastian Schemmel and Dutch goalkeeper Harald Wapenaar - with Mandaric admitting he is willing to still pay a proportion of their wages at their new clubs.

Burchill and Schemmel have both fallen out with boss Redknapp while Wapenaar failed to impress when occasionally standing in for first-choice keeper Shaka Hislop last term.

But Mandaric said: “The wages add up when players are not playing and they are paid very well here. We can get round it by passing them on to other clubs and we can help.”

Mandaric, who patched up a furious public row with Redknapp at the end of last season, supposedly over the future of assistant boss Jim Smith, is expected to soon confirm that former Leeds and Scotland striker Joe Jordan has been added to Portsmouth’s coaching team.