Portsmouth were holding talks with Liverpool last night about re-signing Peter Crouch, the forward, who left Fratton Park six years ago. Harry Redknapp, the Portsmouth manager, has asked the board for funds to bring in several players in a determined attempt to build on this season's eighth-place finish in the Barclays Premier League and their appearance in the FA Cup Final, in which they will play Cardiff City tomorrow.

Redknapp wants a target man to partner Jermain Defoe next season and believes that Liverpool will sell Crouch this summer as he enters the final year of his contract. Liverpool's £15million valuation has been a stumbling block, with Portsmouth willing to pay about half that. Redknapp has also considered Dean Ashton, the West Ham United forward.

Crouch has frequently expressed his frustration at the rotation policy and his lack of opportunities at Anfield. Liverpool rejected an inquiry for him from Manchester City this season. The England forward left Portsmouth for Aston Villa for £5million in March 2002, two days after Redknapp took charge at Fratton Park for the first time. He scored 18 goals in 37 appearances in the league for Portsmouth, since when he has also played for Norwich City and Southampton. At 27, Crouch has played for seven clubs and has accrued transfer fees of £15.5million in his career.

Redknapp has concerns about his attacking line-up for next season. Kanu, the Nigeria and former Arsenal striker, will turn 32 in August, John Utaka, also of Nigeria, has been a disappointment after an encouraging start, David Nugent remains available for transfer, and Milan Baros, the Czech Republic and former Liverpool forward, is on loan from Lyons, although Portsmouth have the option to buy him for £5million this summer.

Meanwhile, Peter Storrie, the Portsmouth chief executive, denied that Redknapp is considering stepping down. “It's an unbelievable load of rubbish; complete and utter makebelieve,” Storrie said. “I can assure the fans that Harry is going absolutely nowhere. Harry is furious about this - we all are.”

Kanu is expected to play up front in the Cup Final against Cardiff tomorrow, when Portsmouth's defence will be important. Cardiff will attempt to do what only one man, Chris Clark, of Plymouth Argyle, has achieved in 2008: score against Portsmouth in an FA Cup tie. The bad news? Before they can even get David James in their sights, they have to find a way past Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin.

The formidable central-defensive pairing came together last summer when Distin arrived at Fratton Park on a free transfer from Manchester City. The appearance in the final vindicates his decision to move from City to what might be regarded as a smaller club.

“I played for Newcastle and I didn't win anything, I played for City and I didn't win anything, either,” Distin said. “At Portsmouth, I'm going to play in a Cup Final for the first time in my career, so for me that's the most important thing. I remember when I signed here, some people didn't say too much, but I could see in their eyes, ‘Why Portsmouth?' They have the answer today.”

Distin won the French League Cup in 2000, in an upset that he hopes will not be repeated tomorrow. “It was with Gueugnon, a second division club at the time, against Paris SaintGermain, who were a top-four club. A bit like Cardiff against Portsmouth or Manchester United,” he said. “We had a bit of luck, we had good footballers. We believed. For me, Cardiff are not a small side and it's going to be a tough game until the last second.”

Campbell has also made a point to those who thought that his days of collecting trophies ended when he left Arsenal in 2006. “I hope I get a lot of respect for that,” he said. “I'm a fighter and I'll always keep fighting. I've won the Cup [in 2002, when Arsenal beat Chelsea], played all the games and then been in the stand for the final, been suspended - I've had it all.”

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