On this day: £13.28m former Barcelona, Benfica and Brazil striker tells Portsmouth he wants Fratton Park move

The Brazil international stole the show in a 2-0 pre-season triumph over Yeovil with an eye-catching Blues debut.

Asked to play in attack, the former Barcelona and Benfica star carved out a goal for Lomana Lualua and scored the other in an impressive performance.

It was an instant impact from Geovanni, who was spending the next two weeks training with Redknapp’s side.

The then 27-year-old, who cost Barca £13.28m from Cruzeiro in 2001 after attracting their attention in the 2000 Olympics, was a free agent at the time.

And his agent, Regi Pereira, revealed the striker was desperate to make the move a permanent one.

He said: ‘Geovanni was with Barcelona and then he went to Benfica for three years.

‘Now he wants to play in England and he wants to stay with Harry at this football club.

‘He is here for two weeks, just for adaption. It’s not a trial.

'If he likes it and Harry likes him then he will sign. He wants a change and likes England.

‘Geovanni is a free agent and a quality player. I hope Portsmouth sign him – he would be very interested.

‘The fans saw what he can do against Yeovil. He scored a goal and created the other one. He is a very good player. Now everyone can see that.

‘He scored against Manchester United in the Champions League two seasons ago when Benfica won 2-1 and also played for Brazil.

‘We will have to see what the outcome is.’

Redknapp said: ‘He is a Brazilian striker but he has a Spanish passport so there won’t be a problem with a work permit.

‘He has played for Barcelona and scored in the Champions League so he has a good pedigree.

‘I am happy with the players we have got in but there might be one more to come.’

As we all know, Geovanni never got his wish of signing for the Blues.

Instead, he signed for Manchester City for a season and scored on his Premier League debut against West Ham.

Three goals in 23 appearances saw the Brazilian leave at the end of the 2007-08 season, before he joined Hull, where he spent the next two seasons.