Portsmouth target Carrick

Portsmouth have tabled a club record bid, thought to be more than £2m, for the West Ham and England midfielder Michael Carrick.

The Pompey chairman, Milan Mandaric, is also ready to pick up the bill for the Blackburn striker Dwight Yorke. The club's manager, Harry Redknapp, fears Portsmouth will be fighting a relegation battle in the Premiership next season without an injection of new blood.

Redknapp, who has so far signed Lomano LuaLua for £1.8m and David Unsworth and Andy Griffin on free transfers, wants to sign Yorke. Portsmouth believe the striker would be available for about £400,000.

But the midfield is what Redknapp must reinforce because Alexei Smertin, the Russia captain, has returned to Chelsea after a season-long loan and Amdy Faye, the Senegal international who was Pompey's previous biggest buy before LuaLua at £1.5m a year ago, is out for three months with a knee injury.

Redknapp, who fell out with Mandaric at the end of last season despite leading Portsmouth to a highly respectable 13th in their first Premiership season, had looked to be on a collision course again when Fulham captured the Senegal midfielder Papa Bouba Diop last week after he had been on trial at Pompey.

Redknapp saw Carrick in action for West Ham in a friendly against Anderlecht on Saturday. The Hammers rejected an offer from Crystal Palace of around £2m two weeks ago.

Mandaric said: "We have put in a club record bid for Michael Carrick. He is a highly rated player and we are not afraid to break our transfer record for such talent. We would regard this as an investment. The bid is not an issue and it should leave nobody in any doubt about what direction this club is continuing to take."

Carrick, 23, made his West Ham debut under Redknapp's management five years ago and has also earned two full England caps as well as appearances for the Under-21s.