LONDON // Portsmouth have confirmed the signings of midfielders Pele on loan from FC Porto and Hayden Mullins from West Ham on a three-and-a-half year deal. The Portuguese winger Pele, 21, will link up with Tony Adams's side until the end of the season with a view to a permanent deal. He joined Porto at the start of the season having plied his trade with Serie A giants Inter Milan as a teenager and is a current Portugal under-20 international.
"Pele is an exciting young talent. He did well for Inter Milan before joining Porto," the Portsmouth executive chairman Peter Storrie told the club's website. "He's an expensive player so it's a deal with an option to buy so we can both have a look at each other." Meanwhile Mullins, 29, joins from Premier League rivals West Ham United for an undisclosed fee, adding some much needed steel to the Pompey midfield with Lassana Diarra having left for Real Madrid and Papa Bouba Diop out with a long-term injury.
"Hayden and Pele will add strength to our midfield," added Storrie. "Both players have been on our radar for a while but we wanted them here in time to beat Monday's midday deadline to play against Aston Villa (on Tuesday). "Hayden is an experienced player who has played exceptionally well against us in the past. He's a guy with immense experience in the Premier League and that's what we need in this situation."
*With Agencies