League One champion, FA Cup hero and £8m triallist: Portsmouth figures hunt for new homes
The former Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham and Nottingham Forest men are looking for new clubs, after stints with Pompey.
The search is continuing for new homes this season for out-of-contract former Pompey favourites.
That has seen a League One champion and FA Cup hero join the Professional Footballers’ Association’s (PFA) latest showcast game, as they look for new employers.
League one champ, FA Cup hero, £8m triallist and former Liverpool man involved at PFA camp
And they were joined by a summer Blues triallist, who was eyed by John Mousinho as he weighed up offering the player a Fratton future.
Hundreds of professional footballers are still without a club, as their existing deals came to a close across the summer.
That has led to some join a 10-week PFA training camp, which allows those not tied to teams to carry out a pre-season programme and build their fitness for the new season.
The camp is held at Champney’s Springs in Leicestershire, which is now in its third year and offers top-drawer facilities to those taking part.
As well as training, games are organised by the PFA which can allow players to catch the eye of prospective employers.
The latest intra-squad match took place yesterday, with some familiar Pompey figures involved in the action.
League One title winner Anthony Scully was one of those men, with the winger leaving Shrewsbury Town after a 12-month stay.
Scully was touted as a marquee capture at Pompey three years ago, but was riddled with fitness issues across a Fratton stay which totalled just nine outings as John Mousinho’s men lifted the League One title.
The 27-year-old enjoyed a clearer run of fitness at New Meadow last season including a run of four goals in six games, but still found his deal with Salop wasn’t renewed.
Joining Scully is former Pompey loanee Andre Green, who came to Fratton prominence in the 2018-19 season while on loan from Aston Villa.
Green is remembered for bagging the winning goal in the FA Cup success at Norwich City at the start of 2019, shortly returning to Villa Park.
The 28-year-old also hit a run of four goals in as many games before going to play for the likes of Slovan Bratislava, Panserraikos and most recently Portuguese outfit AVS.
The pair were on the receiving end of a 9-2 thrashing from their opponents, who had two former Pompey triallists in their ranks.
Arvin Appiah was an eye-catching summer arrival, as the man who joined UD Almeria from Nottingham Forest for £8m in 2019 was released by the Spanish club this summer.
Appiah joined the Blues for pre-season, first being seen in the 1-1 draw at Bristol Rovers in July.
The left-sided player remained at PO4 for warm-up games, before departing ahead of the EFL Cup defeat West Ham last month.
Eagle-eyed Pompey fans may remember former Liverpool man Elijah Dixon-Bonner joining Danny Cowley’s side on trial, ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.
The midfielder appeared for an hour in a behind-closed-doors game at Bristol City, with a second outing coming in a 1-1 draw at Luton Town before Cowley opted against handing him a deal.
Dixon-Bonner left Liverpool and went on to get Championship game time at QPR, most notably in the 2023-24 season.
The 25-year-old had loan spells with Swedish side Västerås SK, Morecambe and Wealdstone, before leaving Loftus Road this summer.