Grant eager to keep James as Stoke Pull the plug

Portsmouth boss Avram Grant was in the dark over David James’ proposed move to Stoke. 

James was expected to complete a loan move to the Britannia Stadium for the rest of the campaign on Friday, but talks reportedly broke down after the clubs failed to agree on what percentage of his wages Pompey should pay.

James is believed to be one of the highest-earning players at Fratton Park and cash-strapped Pompey’s owners were keen to get him off their wage bill.

But Grant says he was not asked about the possibility of letting the former Liverpool man join the Potters and has been surprised by talk of the 39-year-old’s departure.

“I must tell you honestly that I don’t know what happened,” said Grant.

“From my point of view, he was training with the team and nothing happened.

“He trained today and he trained the day before. There wasn’t any problem and I don’t know what was happening.

“He belongs to the team and I want him to stay in the team.

“I’ve heard many clubs want our players but we want to keep our players.

“We had 16 players in the squad on Tuesday and tomorrow, if everyone is fit, it will be 18.

“So we cannot give players to the other teams and we don’t want to.”

Grant confirmed James will be in his squad for the Premier League clash with Birmingham at Fratton Park on Saturday.

But he refused to be drawn as to whether he would replace second choice stopper Asmir Begovic between the sticks.

“Jamo is a very good player but Asmir did very well for us. He is a young player and has a great future ahead of him. He showed that we can count on him and he was great.”