Portsmouth sign defender Finnan

by Fabregas04 on Fri Jul 31, 2009 9:43 am

Portsmouth have signed Republic of Ireland international right-back Steve Finnan on a one-year deal.

Finnan, 33, has joined the Fratton Park club after terminating his contract with Espanyol.

The defender failed to settle in Spain after moving to the La Liga club from Liverpool at the start of last season.

"It whetted my appetite to think that we could get a player of Steve's calibre here," Pompey boss Paul Hart told the club's website.

"He's really looking forward to coming here and we're looking forward to seeing him play."

Finnan started his career at Welling and went on to have spells at Birmingham and Notts County before moving to Fulham.

He helped the Cottagers win promotion into the Premier League and his form saw him earn a switch to Liverpool in July 2003.

Finnan won the 2005 Champions League and 2006 FA Cup with the Anfield side but his stint with Espanyol was disrupted by injury and he started only three league games for the club.

Pompey sold right-back Glen Johnson to Liverpool this summer and Finnan has been drafted in as his replacement.