Boss questions striker swoop

Guy Whittingham has revealed his frustrations at the hold-up in attempts to sign Jake Jervis and admitted: We can't afford to wait forever.
Jake JervisJake Jervis
Jake Jervis

The 22-year-old striker’s agreed move to Pompey has been delayed, with his former Turkish club Elazigspor potentially entitled to compensation for training and development as he is under the age of 24.

While the Blues boss remains determined to complete the transfer for the free agent, he knows it is a situation that needs to be resolved quickly.

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But Whittingham admitted, the longer it drags on, the more chance there is that Pompey will turn their attentions elsewhere.

Although, he was quick to stress Pompey had not reached that point yet.

‘It is frustrating, especially when you know what sort of talent you have got in Jake,’ said Whittingham.

‘There has not been any progress on that situation.

‘He understands. He has been fine about it but he wants it sorted, as we do.

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‘There will be a point where we have to think about pulling the plug, but we haven’t reached it yet.’

The striker, who spent a short spell on loan with Pompey last term, left Birmingham in January for Turkey.

And under Fifa rules, Pompey could be liable for a huge bill for development costs, even though he went unpaid by the Turkish club.

While chief executive Mark Catlin is trying to resolve the issue, there is no definitive answer on when the matter will be settled.

Whittingham added: ‘We haven’t been given any indication on when this might be resolved as yet.

‘We just carry on waiting.’