Portsmouth have completed the club record signing - thought to be around £7million - of Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari in a five-year deal from Udinese.
Muntari, 22, is manager Harry Redknapp's third new recruit in a week having signed centre-backs Sylvain Distin from Manchester City and Hermann Hreidarsson from Charlton on free transfers.
Redknapp said: ‘We tried to sign Sulley in the last two transfer windows but Udinese did not want to sell.
‘I saw him for the first time in the World Cup last summer for Ghana against Brazil when he was the best player on the pitch.
‘And he was outstanding in the matches I've watched him ever since. He will add pace, strength and goalscoring ability to our midfield.’
Although Portsmouth announced that the signing was ‘for an undisclosed fee,’ £7million has been the figure popularly quoted in negotiations and will easily surpass the £4.4million they paid French club Auxerre for Zimbabwe striker Benjani Mwaruwari in January last year.
Meanwhile, veteran Portsmouth defender Linvoy Primus is close to agreeing a new contract at Fratton Park, according to his agents.
Primus, 33, missed just two Premiership games last season and wants a new two-year deal despite the arrivals of Distin and Hreidarsson.
Agent John Mac told the Portsmouth News: ‘Negotiations are ongoing and I cannot see any problems so far. We are hopeful of concluding everything in the next few weeks.
‘Linvoy was probably Portsmouth's most consistent player last season. He is still hungry for success and extremely dedicated.
‘He's a role model to everybody - a fantastic professional.’
