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In March, the club that had already expressed interest in the Cameroonian defender Laureno from London won the fight and signed a two and a half year contract with the player.
"Lauren is an amazing player. He is an excellent athlete and professional, as well as very fast and strong. He will be very useful for us, as he is very versatile and can play in several positions both in defense and in the safety line. I am very pleased that he chose Portsmouth despite interest from other clubs. It just shows how far we have come in a short time," said Portsmouth's coach Harry Redknapp.
"It is a great transition for me. Portsmouth is doing great this season and they are fighting for a place in Europe, so I believe I can participate in this challenge. I was impressed by the club's plans for the future both on and off the field, and that's why I chose to come to Fratton Park. It will also be great to play again with Sol Campbell and Kanu," said Laureno.
The Cameroonian defender joined Arsenal from the Mallorca team in 2000. At that time, the English paid £7.2 million for this purchase. Currently, Laureno is recovering from a serious injury and knee surgery, which prevented him from playing throughout 2006 and led to the player losing his place to Emmanuel Eboue and Justin Hoyte who had established themselves in the lineup.
Earlier, H. Redknapp said he was eager to sign the player and was not afraid of the footballer's potential poor form.
"Everything will depend on Laureno's decision. West Ham will fiercely fight for this player, but we promise not to give up. A few more clubs may be interested in him, but players of this level appear very rarely in the market, and I would really like to have him in our team. I spoke to Sol Campbell and Kanu, who played with him at Arsenal. Both of them rated Laureno as a top-class player. That's what he is. I believe he would greatly strengthen our lineup," the strategist said before finalizing the deal.
Laureno played 241 matches in Arsenal colors. It is believed that the London club could receive around £1.5 million for the Cameroonian.
