Pompey still on Crouch trail
30 Jun 2008 - 13:05:43
Portsmouth insist they remain firmly in the hunt to sign Peter Crouch despite seeing a £9million bid turned down by Liverpool last week.
Pompey boss Harry Redknapp is keen to land the England striker following Crouch's admission that he may look to leave Anfield this summer due to a lack of starting opportunities.
Crouch spent one season at Portsmouth six years ago under Redknapp, before moving on to Aston Villa, Southampton and then the Reds in 2005.
However, despite revealing his interest in Crouch, Redknapp has vowed not to pay over the odds for the 27-year-old forward.
Despite being knocked back last week, chief executive Peter Storrie has revealed the south coast club are not ready to give up on the striker just yet.
"Harry's made it clear he wants Peter Crouch. He's the sort of quality we want to add to the team," he told the Portsmouth News.
"We've made a fair bid for him and that was turned down but we're still interested.
"It's now the case that we've made known our position and Liverpool have made known theirs - we'll see what happens after that. This isn't the end of it.
"As in normal transfer negotiations there's still more talking to be done. That's how it works.
"We're not going to be giving up. Harry sees him as an important player and we'll try to bring him to Fratton Park."