Portsmouth Football Club News

Pompey have completed the signing of Nadir Belhadj from French side Lens on a season-long loan, with an option to buy. The 26-year-old Algeria left-back wanted to join the Blues as soon as he heard that Harry Redknapp was interested. He said: “I’m delighted to be at Pompey because it’s a very good club with great players. “I like the English people and I like English football, so this is an excellent opportunity for me. “The club have chased me for a while now and when I heard that they wanted me, there was only one place I wanted to come. I wanted to come to Portsmouth. “Harry Redknapp is a great manager and with the players we have at the club, I think we can do really well this season. “I will do my very best to help us succeed.” The Algeria international is a fan of the 3-5-2 system that brought Pompey joy at Goodison Park on Saturday. He said: “I like the system that the side played against Everton at the weekend. It suits me because I have a lot of pace and I like to run a lot.” Belhadj, who will wear the number 39 shirt for Pompey, began his career at Lens but failed to make a first-team appearance before joining Gueugnon after a successful loan spell. From there, he moved to Sedan with whom he won promotion and got to the final of the French Cup. He then joined French champions Lyon, before returning to Lens at the beginning of 2008. Belhadj has won 25 caps for Algeria, scoring three goals. He will go straight off on international duty, with Algeria facing Papa Bouba Diop’s Senegal in a vital World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday.

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