Monday, February 6th, 2012
After negotiating for the release of Aruna Dindane to play in the FA Cup final by Lens, Portsmouth announced that they have rejected the goodwill gesture from the Ligue One club, citing that the player should be allowed to play in more EPL live matches to ensure he is fit enough to turn out for the club in the showpiece event.
Lens are agreeable in waiving the £4 million fee that the club was supposed to have received should Dindane have played his 22nd game for Pompey – which was widely expected to be the FA Cup final. The EPL club has since decided to bite the hand that feeds them by turning down the gesture and going back demanding for more.
According to Pompey administrator Andrew Andronikou, Lens have been willing to make concessions for the prior request as another good appearance by Dindane would help to put the player in a wider shop window, as well as possibly raising his transfer value. But Pompey do not want to field a player who has not played consistently in matches leading up to the final, causing match fitness concerns. The EPL club is now willing to leave the striker out if the new request is not allowed, leaving them short of quality as Dindane was a key player in their upset of Spurs in the FA Cup semi final.
This would be a severe blow to the player himself, as Dindane had professed his desire to be part of the Pompey team for the Wembley showpiece. The striker, like so many millions in the rest of the world, grew up in his home country, France, watching the FA Cup final on TV, dreaming of one day having the chance to be part of the most celebrated knockout Cup competition in the world. It appears that the dream will be taken away from him unless his parent club and Pompey come to a new agreement.
Tags: Aruna Dindane, FA Cup final, Lens, Portsmouth