Portsmouth rivals battle to sign €4m international talent as West Ham make shock Jamie Vardy enquiry
The latest transfer headlines involving Pompey’s Championship rivals.
Championship football returns this Saturday as Pompey welcome QPR to Fratton Park.
The Blues will be looking to kick-start the new season on a winning note as they bid to improve on last term’s 18th-placed finish.
John Mousinho has wasted no time in assembling his new squad, with seven players arriving through the doors at PO4 so far in the window.
Odin Bailey, Rocco Shein, Eoin Kenny, Marko Milovanovic, Daniel Bielica, Luke Brooke-Smith and Abu Kamara have already completed their respective moves, with more set to arrive.
Elsewhere, transfer activity remains rife around the Championship as gossip and speculation continues to do the rounds.
Here are the latest headlines involving Pompey’s second-tier rivals.
Championship duo race for €4m midfielder
Swansea City and West Brom are both plotting a swoop for Strasbourg midfielder Rabby Nzingoula, according to reports.
Football League World have claimed the Championship duo are ‘looking’ at the 20-year-old ahead of a potential move in the window.
The report states the France youth international is on the radar of Pompey’s rivals and could be available for €4m this summer.
It is believed the Ligue 1 outfit are hoping to cash in Nzingoula before the September 2 deadline, with 12-months remaining on his current terms.
The holding midfielder spent the second half of last term on loan with German outfit Nurnberg, collecting three goal contributions in his 15 league outings.
The 2.Bundesliga side, though, opted against triggering his €4m option-to-buy clause at the end of his temporary agreement and subsequently returned to Strasbourg, where he’s since been told he is free to leave.
Pompey’s rivals are now reportedly looking at striking a cut-price deal for Nzingoula as he enters the final year of his deal.
West Ham want Vardy
After fending off Mousinho’s men in last Saturday’s Carabao Cup first-round tie, attention is now back on the transfer window for West Ham.
Having already signed Joel Veltman, Manor Soloman and Keiber Lamadrid, Nuno Espirito Santo is looking to bolster his ranks further ahead of the Hammers’ first Championship season in 14 years.
Indeed, Sky Sports News have claimed the second-tier new-boys are monitoring Jamie Vardy’s situation, having become a free agent earlier this summer.
The report states West Ham are looking at the 39-year-old as a potential centre-forward option in the final weeks of the window.
The experienced frontman departed Italian outfit Cremonese after opting to quit the Serie B side just 12 months into stay.
Vardy netted seven goals in 29 league appearances in his sole campaign for I Grigiorossi, who failed to beat the drop from Serie A last term.
Now, a return to England could be on the cards for the prolific striker just one year after departing Leicester City, with the Hammers reportedly enquiring about his services.