Portsmouth signed Croatia midfielder
Niko Kranjcar from Hajduk Split on Thursday ahead of Europe's
transfer deadline.
Portsmouth gave the 22-year-old a four-year contract and his
lawyer Emil Zgur said the transfer was worth five million euros
($7.1 million Cdn).
Zgur said Kranjcar would receive one million euros ($1.4 million
Cdn) per season.
Kranjcar rejected an offer from France's Rennes, worth about four
million euros ($5.7 million Cdn), earlier this week.
Kranjcar made his name at age 16, scoring a goal in his debut
with Croatia's top club, Dinamo Zagreb, and a year later, he became
its youngest ever captain.
In 2005, he joined rival Hajduk for a record domestic fee and
made his debut with the national team at the age of 20.
He was part of the Croatia team that scored only two goals in
three World Cup games and dropped out in the first round. Kranjcar
is the son of Zlatko Kranjcar, who led the national team at the
World Cup but was fired because of the team's poor performance
there.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
