Pompey may consider Yorke move

Portsmouth may switch their attention to Blackburn’s Dwight Yorke in their bid to sign a new striker after pulling out, on medical grounds, from a move for Preston North End’s Ricardo Fuller.

Manager Harry Redknapp was non-committal when asked today about the prospects of signing Yorke who has been relegated to sixth choice striker at Ewood Park after boss Graeme Souness accused him of frittering away his career.

The Portsmouth chief did admit his admiration of the Trinidad and Tobago international.

Yorke’s age – he will be 33 in November – will not deter Redknapp, a master of extending the career of veterans, as he proved with Teddy Sheringham and Steve Stone last season.

The problem could be Yorke’s wages – although he may be available on a free transfer after scoring just eight Premiership goals last season.

Before that, however, he notched 48 in 96 appearances for Manchester United and 73 in 231 League games for Aston Villa.

Souness is committed to clearing out some of the huge playing staff at Blackburn especially after adding strikers Jon Stead – from Huddersfield Town - and Paul Dickov – from Leicester – to the mix.

He has already allowed Yorke’s former United and Blackburn strike-partner Andy Cole to go to Fulham.

Few details of the transfer have been released but it is believed that Cole was a free transfer.

Fulham are now setting their sights on Portsmouth’s Senegal midfielder Amdy Faye and, although Redknapp will be desperately reluctant to see him go, Pompey chairman Milan Mandaric refuses to up Faye’s wages to what would be on offer at Fulham.

Faye looks certain to become Fulham manager Chris Coleman’s second signing in a week even though the player has three years left on his contract at Fratton Park.

Faye has now been given permission to talk to Fulham who made a £3m (€4.5m) offer for him last week. The move will be sealed if the 27-year-old can agree personal terms.

“We’re not quite there with Amdy, there are one or two stumbling blocks which I’m not prepared to discuss,” Coleman told the London Evening Standard.

“Everyone knows I’m interested in him, I just need to iron a few things out.”

With Russia captain Alexei Smertin electing to fight for a midfield place at Chelsea, who loaned him to Portsmouth last season immediately after signing him from French club Bordeaux, Pompey have now handed former Arsenal reserve Richard Hughes a new contract which will keep him at Fratton Park until 2007.

Hughes filled in impressively for both Smertin and Faye on occasions last season and could now get the chance to establish himself as Pompey prepare for their first pre-season friendly at Wycombe Wanderers tomorrow.

After that they embark on a tour of the West Country at the weekend, playing Torquay, Plymouth and Bristol City.

Pompey chief executive Peter Storrie has admitted that telling Jamaican international Fuller that the deal to signing him was off, amounted to one of the hardest things he has had to do in football.

Storrie said: “Ricardo was very keen to join us and we wanted to sign him, but when you have a substantial deal like that you cannot take chances. Our advice from two different sources after the medical examinations he had was that we should withdraw.”

Fuller, aged 23, had his left knee surgically rebuilt last season when he played only 18 League games for Preston but it is believed it was his right knee which showed up potential problems in the Portsmouth examination.

He has now returned to Preston, with manager Craig Brown admitting it looks like the player will face another operation.

Chairman Mandaric has pledged to keep defender Linvoy Primus, aged 30, who is believed to be the subject of a bid by newly-promoted Norwich and Pompey’s own new signing, David Unsworth from Everton, is set to be handed the penalty-taker’s job next season.

He will replace Sheringham who was released by Pompey in May and has now joined West Ham, but his absence still leaves a big gap up front despite the signing of former loan player Lomana LuaLua from Newcastle.