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Portsmouth's spree targets D'Alessandro

Jason Burt
Tuesday 31 January 2006 01:00 GMT
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The Premiership club yesterday landed the Tottenham Hotspur winger Wayne Routledge and Serbian international midfielder Ognjen Koroman on loan. If they sign two more players it will take their arrivals in January to 10 at a cost of around £18m.

D'Alessandro, a creative midfielder, would represent the biggest coup. He is unsettled and available for transfer from Wolfsburg and has held talks with other German clubs plus River Plate back in Argentina. The 24-year-old has long been linked with a move to the Premiership and may arrive at Fratton Park on loan to showcase his talents for bigger clubs. Wolfsburg want to recoup the £6.5m they paid for him.

Portsmouth have also not given up hope on McCarthy although they will have to raise their bid from £4.1m to £6.2m to land the Porto striker.

Routledge, who has arrived until the end of the season, takes to four the number of former Spurs players now at Portsmouth. He follows Pedro Mendes, Sean Davis and Noe Pamarot who were signed for a combined £7m earlier this month. Koroman, who has eight international caps, has moved from the Russian club Terek Groznyi.

That deal followed the Premiership strugglers' failure to sign their former captain Nigel Quashie, who now moves from Southampton to West Bromwich Albion for £1.5m.

Routledge's arrival may lead to the departure of Matthew Taylor if a deal can be completed in time. The 24-year-old was close to a move to Fulham, but a £1.2m bid was rejected.

Fulham have failed in their prolonged attempts to sign Middlesbrough's Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. An 18-month contract was on offer, but Hasselbaink was prevented from moving because of Middlesbrough's relegation plight. He will now see out the remainder of his contract and leave in the summer.

West Ham hope to sign Barcelona's Gabri today. The 26-year-old Spaniard was last night travelling to London for a medical and to discuss personal terms.

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