Portsmouth January transfer target Nesta Elphege set for surprise switch after failed Blues bid

January Pompey target Nesta Elphege is poised to depart Grenoble this month following earlier interest from the Blues.

John Mousinho has been looking to reinforce his forward department in the window, adding much-needed competition for Colby Bishop in the attacking ranks.

The Magic Man has netted just twice in all competitions this term, while Makenzie Kirk has appeared on the scoresheet just once following his summer switch from St Johnstone and Thomas Waddingham has been out of action since September with injury.

The head coach is planning on bringing in at least three new faces before Monday’s deadline as he bids to strengthen for the crucial relegation battle at the bottom of the Championship.

Elphege was someone who had been on the radar of the football operations at Fratton Park this month, with The News understanding a bid was tabled for the Grenoble striker.

Pompey target set for January move

The offer was in the region of the French second-tier outfit’s £1m valuation for the 25-year-old, but was rejected as they hoped to keep hold of one of their prized assets for their relegation battle.

However, Mousinho also signalled his intent at recruiting players who can hit the ground running in the window, seemingly ruling out a swoop for the powerful frontman.

Grenoble, though, are now poised to lose Elphege before Monday's deadline, with reports in Europe suggesting an exit is imminent.

That’s according to Sky Sports Italy reporter Gianluca Di Marzio, who has revealed the Frenchman is undergoing a medical with Parma today after arriving in Italy on Wednesday.

The Frenchman has been spotted at the Serie A outfit’s training base ahead of a permanent switch to the Ennio Tardini Stadium.

His moves comes after a frustrating campaign in Ligue 2 for Elphege, who netted four goals and provided three assists in 17 outings for the relegation-threatened Grenoble.

It followed a goalless campaign during his first season at the Stade des Alpes as GF38 finished ninth in the French second-tier.

John Mousinho on Pompey striker search

With goals a problem for Pompey this season, Mousinho confirmed earlier in the window he was looking to recruit a new number nine before Monday’s climax.

He told The News on January 19: ‘We’ve had Tom (Waddingham) injured and too much strain on Mack (Kirk) and Colby (Bishop), we didn’t expect Mack to play as much as he has so soon. With Callum (Lang) out as well and looking at the injuries you can see why we’re looking there.

‘Then there’s the lack of goals we’ve scored. We get into the final third really well, but aren’t doing enough with it. When we have enough attacking players at our disposal that will change.

‘Possibly (he’d sign a 10) but goalscoring attackers in that area aren’t easy to find.

‘That’s the trade off, if you want to buy a guaranteed goalscorer at the level they cost a huge amount and there’s not many of them available. Or you could take a risk abroad.

‘There’s quite a few permutations. What we’re keen to do is get a couple of pieces of the puzzle in place and go from there.’

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