The waters surrounding Mikael Forssell's likely destination continue to muddy after Tottenham Hotspur emerged as Birmingham City's rivals for the Finland international striker.
Forssell, currently on the fringes of the Chelsea firstteam having just recovered from a long-term knee injury, is expected to leave Stamford Bridge this summer, either on a loan deal or a permanent transfer.
And having already spent all of the last campaign and the start of the current one at St Andrew's, Blues are wellplaced to bring him back to the Midlands.
But his dramatic success in a Birmingham shirt last term, in which he scored 19 goals and kept the club in the Premiership, has alerted a host of other clubs to the situation, including Spurs and relegation candidates Portsmouth.
It was Pompey chairman Milan Mandaric who revealed the Londoners' interest in the player when he said: " Tottenham and others are interested in him.
"It's difficult to get big players but we're working on it. He's quality and he knows the Premiership."
Meanwhile, Blues defender Mario Melchiot has been named in the provisional Netherlands' squad for their forthcoming double-header of World Cup qualifying matches.
The Dutch face Romania on June 4 in Rotterdam, before travelling to Helsinki to play Forssell's Finland four days later.
