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Ghana 2008: Portsmouth battles NFA over Kanu, Utaka

By Our correspondent

Portsmouth is planning to fight Nigeria’s attempt to take strikers Nwankwo Kanu and John Utaka two weeks early for next month’s African Nations Cup in Ghana.

Photo File John Utaka Photo File Nwankwo Kanu

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The pair, along with Pompey teammates Sulley Muntari of Ghana and Senegal’s Papa Bouba Diop, could already be away for six weeks.

But Super Eagles coach, Berti Vogts, wants them to attend a training camp, which means they could be away for two months.

“We will be protesting strongly,” Pompey Chief Executive, Peter Storrie, told Portsmouth Evening News on Tuesday.

“It is just ridiculous; we all know who the countries in the quarterfinals will be.

“What do they need a 14-day warm-up for?

“We do not have to release them (early). There are FIFA rules which legislate for this, it is totally crazy.”

With reserve defender Djimi Traore also likely to be called up by Mali, Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp says he will have to find cover for his missing stars by signing players on loan during the January transfer window.

“We do need to try to find maybe another three or four players from somewhere if we can, because we need to fill the squad up,” Redknapp told the Times newspaper.

“We haven’t got 19 or 20-year-olds here that I could bring in and we can’t go with just 14 players. It’s not going to work.

“We lose two midfield players, a wide player and a front man and they are all with teams that are not exactly weak teams in the African Nations Cup and will go a long way.”

But Redknapp accepts that he will have to look beyond the Premier League to fill the gaps left by the African stars.