The inside track on Portsmouth's dramatic race against time to sign in-demand Norway defender Madiodio Dia
The 22-year-old Senegal defender was Pompey’s final signing on a busy transfer deadline day
It was Sunday night when Pompey’s centre-half contingency plan was initiated, launching what would develop into ‘a race against the clock’.
Certainly FK Haugesund sporting director Kristoffer Haraldseid hadn’t anticipated interest in one of their most coveted players being declared 24 hours before the transfer deadline.
Madiodio Dia had previously attracted bids from Sarpsborg 08 and, more recently, AIK Stockholm, with the latter having tabled 7m Norwegian krone. Both approaches were rejected.
Pompey had been strongly pursuing Luke Graham, a player regarded as possessing the capability to immediately enter John Mousinho’s Championship starting XI.
Yet there remained doubts over completing the transfer, wisely as it turned out.
The Blues believed they had reached agreement with Dundee on a fee of around £1.4m for the defender’s services, to the point that he was eyeing flights to England on Monday afternoon.
However, on deadline day, the Scottish Premiership side once more upped their demands - so Pompey implemented a Plan B.
Having demonstrated the foresight to make contact with FK Haugesund the previous night, they swiftly turned their focus to the highly-rated Dia as time ran out.
‘It wasn’t completely painless’
Speaking to newspaper Haugesunds Avis, Haraldseid revealed: ‘It was all new to us at the time. So it came very quickly. It wasn't completely painless. It was a race against the clock.
‘There are many formalities that need to be in place to get a transfer like that through. There was a bit of a struggle for a while, but it worked out in the end.
‘There has been so much pressure and so many clubs on him (Madiodio), that he eventually became very determined to move. And we noticed that after he returned from vacation. Maybe the motivation has not been 100 percent present.
‘When something like this appeared on the last day, it was ultimately a solution that was good enough for us to let him go. But I would not say that Dia pushed for a transfer.
‘I don't want to say anything about the amount. But we wouldn't have sold if we hadn't been satisfied.’
£600,000 Pompey signing
According to Haugesunds Avis, a fee of 8m Norwegian krone was agreed with Pompey, the equivalent of £600,000, with FK Haugesund possessing a sell-on clause.
Yet, with Dia still in Norway late on deadline day and requiring a medical, the Blues had to make alternative arrangements.
Indeed, there was a reason why the final Fratton Park signing on a busy transfer deadline day was not pictured when officially unveiled by Pompey - he wasn’t even in England.
Andy Cullen told The News: ‘Madiodio was a later one. When I say a later one, he had been on our recruitment calls for a number of months now, but we weren't sure whether he would become available.
‘However, his position at his football club created that opportunity towards the back end of the window, which meant we could get it pretty quickly.
‘When we went into the transfer window, I don’t think we were necessarily looking at the centre-back position, but then there were the issues we’ve suffered, losing Shaughnessy, Josh Knight and Hayden Matthews.
‘Things changed very, very quickly with the injuries, so we had to additionally look at that particular position as well. That’s why we ended up bringing in two centre-backs (Aji Alese and Dia).
‘For the foreign players, you have to get Visas, which can take a couple of days and is difficult. So Dia also needed to go through his Visa process before landing in England, assuming there will be no particular issues, which we don’t believe there will be.
‘A medical was also required. Our excellent head of medical, Steve Hard, knew somebody who works in a medical centre in Oslo, Norway. That is where Dia undertook his.
‘It’s not unusual for a medical to take place away from a football club. We did Colby Bishop’s in London, for example, to get that one done (July 2023). That was because London was the best place to do it.
‘Having said that, we don’t have too many abroad. That’s my first time at Pompey in terms of a foreign medical.
‘Certainly transfers are complicated now with the additional immigration requirements. It’s a more complex process to recruit any player from overseas, unless they have British passports, like our Australian players Kusini Yengi and Thomas Waddingham.’
Relegation from Eliteserien
FK Haugesund’s season ended in November with relegation from the Eliteserien, having taken just nine points - and two wins - from their 30-game campaign.
The 6ft 4in Dia, one of their star performers, missed the final four matches to undergo a minor operation on his nose, yet was involved in pre-season training ahead of their 2026 season when Pompey made their approach.
The 22-year-old was expected to fly into England last night, although will not be considered for Saturday’s trip to Preston, with his first Blues training session scheduled for Friday.
It had been a race against time to capture their final signing of the January transfer window - and thankfully Pompey managed to beat the clock.