Pompey want Bramble

[Scottish Mag 3]

Portsmouth want Newcastle United centre-back Titus Bramble and will attempt to sign him in a cut-price deal when the transfer window re-opens in January.

 

Bramble, who will miss tomorrow night's clash with Reading after he picked up a calf injury in the 0-0 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, insisted in The Journal last week that he wants to remain in the North-East.

 

But the powerful defender is out of contract in the summer and has still not been offered a new one by chairman Freddie Shepherd, prompting Portsmouth's attempt to prise him away from the Magpies.

 

Bramble can start to negotiate a free transfer under the Bosman rule in the New Year if he has not been offered a new contract at Newcastle, although Portsmouth are believed to want to take him to the south coast immediately.

 

Pompey will not make a bid for the 25-year-old until after Christmas, but manager Harry Redknapp has indicated he might be able to get the former England Under-21 international for less than £1m as Newcastle know they are in danger of losing him for nothing in seven months. That will not please Glenn Roeder, who cannot afford to lose any of his defenders during the transfer window and Newcastle's manager will urge Shepherd not to sell.

 

Roeder has suggested in the past that he wants Bramble to sign a new contract, although he realises that if an extended deal is not offered, Bramble will be advised to look for a potentially lucrative Bosman move by his representatives.

 

Ironically, Redknapp wants to pair Bramble with former England international Sol Campbell, a partnership which could have been formed at United if Roeder had followed up his interest in the 31-year-old in the summer.

 

Campbell was keen on a move to Newcastle but, although Roeder was interested, he was concerned about the player's injury record and decided Chelsea's Robert Huth was a more attractive option. That, though, proved to be a costly decision when Huth decided to move to Middlesbrough and Roeder failed to add a centre-half to his squad.

 

Like most observers, Redknapp believes Bramble has the natural ability to become a top Premiership defender and he hopes that, by pairing him with Campbell, the former Ipswich prospect - signed by Sir Bobby Robson for £5m - will move up a level.

 

Like Bramble, Campbell was also prone to the odd concentration lapse when he was a youngster at Tottenham Hotspur, but he overcame that weakness with experience and went on to become a pivotal player for England in three major tournaments.

 

It remains to be seen whether Bramble will be interested in a move to Fratton Park after he claimed last week that he is "desperate" to stay at Newcastle, but the prospect of playing alongside Campbell will surely be an attractive one.

 

The in-form stopper will be missing from the United defence against Reading tomorrow and is also a doubt for the trip to Blackburn Rovers at the weekend.

 

His close friend Kieron Dyer will also be unavailable for selection as he was told to rest for ten days by the specialist who stitched up the nasty cut in his leg after the Portsmouth match.

 

Roeder said: "After their efforts lately, I gave the first-team squad the weekend off and Titus went back home to Ipswich. But overnight on Friday his calf blew up to twice its normal size and he did the sensible thing by coming straight back to Newcastle so that (physio) Derek Wright could have a look at it. And by doing so we are hoping that it will prevent Titus from being sidelined for too long."

 

Bramble's injury has come at a bad time for Roeder, although the return of full-backs Stephen Carr and Celestine Babayaro mean he will be able to move Peter Ramage into the centre alongside Steven Taylor.

[sweetleftpeg 0]

I would keep Bramble like, on the basis that time and time again the club has sold average players for fuck all and replaced them with average players for big money. All that will happen is we'll get rid of Bramble for next to nowt and bring in another Boumsong for £8m.

[ewerk 26602]

If the club are actually thinking of keeping him on (which they probably are) then this doesn't strenghten their bargaining position.

[snakehips 0]

At this time of year there are loads of reports of teams wanting players. A lot of these reports/quotes are sometimes smokescreens to deflect away from players they really want.

[Jigsaw's Juggernaut 0]

Yes, it does seem like pure speculation, but there is no smoke without fire. I think we should hang onto Bramble until we have found a suitable replacement, be that in January or later. If he can keep his form up ideally he should stay until at least the summer.

 

Although the Bosman ruling fills me with a deep sense of dread...

[Dr Gloom 19883]

get rid, but make sure we have a replacement. we've only got 6 defenders on our books as it is

[TOPTOON 0]

As long as we get a replacement SELL SELL SELL!!

 

or use him as a make weight for Campbell or Matty Taylor!!

[Jusoda Kid 1]

Doubt we'd get campbell but taylor maybe

[Shearergol 0]

So we "were" actually trying to sign Huth, despite the fact that Leazes has on many occasions told us we had no money for defenders.

 

Strange that.

[Brock Manson 0]

Didn't they learn after O'brien?

[Kid Dynamite 5999]

straight swap for linvoy primus. The player bramble should have been!

[Brock Manson 0]

straight swap for linvoy primus. The player bramble should have been!

 

That would be stupid. He only has about 2 seasons left in him ffs.

[peasepud 59]

Bramble's injury has come at a bad time for Roeder, although the return of full-backs Stephen Carr and Celestine Babayaro mean he will be able to move Peter Ramage into the centre alongside Steven Taylor.

 

 

now THAT is shitty news.

[Guest alex]

straight swap for linvoy primus. The player bramble should have been!

 

That would be stupid. He only has about 2 seasons left in him ffs.

Two more decent seasons than Bramble. Personally though, I'd have signed Sol Campbell in the summer.

[Dr Gloom 19883]

straight swap for linvoy primus. The player bramble should have been!

 

That would be stupid. He only has about 2 seasons left in him ffs.

Two more decent seasons than Bramble. Personally though, I'd have signed Sol Campbell in the summer.

 

roeder - "too much of a risk. injury prone, hasn't started enough games in past two seasons, wrong side of 30 etc"

[Guest alex]

I said that before Pompey signed him too. Leazes/Nostradamus tbh.