Pearce the first to go

The first departure (of what should be many!) has been confirmed. As expected Jason Pearce has left for Leeds.

An 'undisclosed amount' has seen him move on...

'Rumours' are saying the fee could be as little as £500,000, which quite clearly is way below his true value - the thing is, again according to these 'rumours', the whole fee has been paid upfront, which is almost unheard of in the modern era! Needs must of course.

I think, in many ways, Pearce is the one that I will most miss as I did not think he should have been allowed to leave the first time, almost being forced into leaving for a second must be pretty hard for him.

But hey ho, Portsmouth Football Club was here before Jason Pearce and will hopefully be here long after too and his departure gives us a better chance of living on as a club.

I wish the guy the best of luck and thank him for his efforts, on and off the field, during his brief return to Fratton - he has been a role model to many and has led as a captain should.

Full details of his departure, as issued on The Pompey Site, are below...

Pearce Joins Leeds
Jason Pearce has joined Leeds from Pompey for an undisclosed fee.

The 24-year-old defender has signed a four-year deal with Neil Warnock's Championship side.

After missing the first three matches through suspension, Pearce played every minute of every game for the Blues last season.

His consistency in the centre of Pompey's defence saw him take over as skipper and win seven of the nine player-of-the-season awards.

Pearce came through the ranks at Pompey before leaving for four seasons at Bournemouth, returning to Fratton Park last summer.

Blues boss Michael Appleton said: "Jason did ever so well for us in what was a very difficult season.

"Going off to play for Bournemouth in the lower leagues before coming back here did him the world of good - and he took his opportunity in the Championship.

"There was interest in him from other clubs all season, which shows the kind of campaign he had for us.

"The financial situation here made it inevitable that he would be going, but we wish him all the best for the future at Leeds."

PLAY UP POMPEY!



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