Portsmouth reprieved by last-gasp Kaboul deal
Published 23:00 30/01/10 By Paul Smith
Portsmouth were yesterday just 24 hours away from becoming the first Premier League club to enter administration.
Asmir Begovic’s decision to reject a move to Tottenham saw the White Hart Lane club threaten to pull out of the double deal for keeper Begovic – who was not prepared to be second choice at Spurs – and Younes Kaboul.
The collapse of the £7million deal would have triggered Pompey’s demise. However, a Tottenham source revealed: “Pompey’s chief executive Peter Storrie was called in and has managed to resolve the problem. Kaboul will join us alone in a £6m transfer.”
That fee will keep Pompey afloat for the time being.
Sunday Mirror Sport can reveal that owner Ali Al Faraj, who fronts a group of Israeli businessmen who have invested only £4m into the club and crippled them with loans, were ready to pull the plug last week.
The money for the sale of Kaboul still didn’t arrive in time to pay the players, who were left waiting for funds to be deposited into their accounts for a third successive month.
A winding-up petition by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs over tax payments could still signal the end for Pompey who are in such dire straights and need a new investor urgently.
