Pompey green light for O'Brien talks

Portsmouth have been given permission to speak to Newcastle defender Andy O’Brien as Graeme Souness clears the decks for his summer signings.

The 25-year-old Republic of Ireland international is understood to be due on the South Coast today to discuss the move, which would bring an end to his stay on Tyneside after more than four years.

“We can confirm we have given Andy O’Brien permission to talk to Portsmouth,” said a Magpies spokesman.

O'Brien, a £1m (€1.45m) signing from Bradford in March 2001, has made 172 appearances for Newcastle, 11 of them as a substitute, and scored five goals.

His contribution has included big Champions League games against Dynamo Kiev, Feyenoord, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen.

However, the Harrogate-born central defender has had to cope with the criticism thrown at a rearguard which has been blamed repeatedly for the club’s lack of tangible success.

Loanee Sylvain Distin and former Leeds defender Jonathan Woodgate have come and gone, while Titus Bramble and Jean-Alain Boumsong have joined at great expense.

Although O’Brien has at times had to take a back seat, he nevertheless signed a year’s contract extension in January as Souness tied up his immediate future.

However, a series of below-par performances towards the end of last season saw sections of the crowd target O’Brien, whose confidence suffered as a result.

The fact Newcastle have given Pompey permission to talk to their player so soon after Aaron Hughes’ departure for Aston Villa suggests that they have defensive signings in the pipeline, although Souness admitted earlier this week that he does not believe Belgian international Daniel van Buyten will be among them.

Should O’Brien agree a switch to Fratton Park, he will link up with former team-mates Andy Griffin and Lomana LuaLua, with Alain Perrin also having expressed an interest in French winger Laurent Robert.