Pompey tried to recoup £1m from Potters

It’s been revealed that Portsmouth tried to increase the fee for Asmir Begovic in a vain attempt to repay a £1m debt to Tottenham.

Pompey’s financial woes are far deeper than even first feared and it now seems that Tottenham paid them £1m upfront in anticipation of Asmir’s move to Spurs which fell through when he opted for the Potters instead.

It seems to have been a highly unusual arrangement and, of course, it instantly disappeared into the massive blackhole that is Pompey’s financial crisis.

Knowing that they’d have to pay Spurs back, they desperately tried to force us to pay an additional £1m on the top of the £3m that had been agreed but Peter Coates, quite rightly, refused to pay.

Spurs have now been forced to stand in line with the many other creditors but seem unlikely to see much of the ‘loan’ returned – if any.

This deal between Portsmouth and Spurs seems very murky and Stoke have promised to assist should the League and FA decide to investigate further.