Pompeys swoop for Greek pair
Portsmouth have signed two Greek players and, subject to international clearance, both will be available for tomorrow’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at Southampton.
Giannis Skopelitis, a £1m (€1.4m) capture from Egaleo, is expected to replace Amdy Faye in midfield after the Senegalese international joined Newcastle earlier this week.
Goalkeeper Konstantinos Chalkias, a member of Greece’s successful Euro 2004 squad, has also joined for a nominal fee after leaving Panathinaikos, the former club of Pompey boss Velimir Zajec.
However, the signing of Russian striker Dmitri Bulykin has been delayed by paperwork and he will not be available for the game at St Mary’s Stadium.
Chairman Milan Mandaric said: “We may not have finished yet and are still looking to possibly bring in two more players with one of them an offensive midfield man. The players we have announced today are proven and experienced.
“Obviously with Nigel Quashie and Amdy Faye departing we felt we needed to reinforce in midfield and Dmitri’s prowess and stature speaks for itself. He has attracted much interest from other Premier League clubs.
“Konstantinos is a giant of a goalkeeper regarded as one of the top keepers in Greek football and in my book you can never have enough class keepers.
“Skopelitis is a solid defensive midfield man who fills the hole left by Amdy Faye very nicely.”
Mandaric added: “I hope this will put to rest the notion that has grown recently that we have suddenly become a selling club. Now we just want to get on with the job of taking Pompey to the next stage.”
