Portsmouth boss Steve Cotterill says he expects to continue talks aimed at taking Town skipper David Norris to Fratton Park later this week. The Blues are understood to have turned down a £250,000 offer for the midfielder but the Pompey manager claims the 29-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of June, is likely to join his club in the summer if the move doesn't take place this month.
Cotterill said: "Maybe talks will resume towards the mid-to-latter part of this week. I am led to believe that might happen. I have spoken to his agent in the past couple of weeks.
"As it stands at this moment in time, maybe there is a deal to be done, maybe not. If not, I am pretty sure he will be coming to us in the summer. But he is happy to come.”
The Portsmouth boss continues to insist that news of Pompey’s interest in Norris wasn’t made public by his club: "The story didn't come out from us because it would have been of no benefit to us. We are slightly disappointed about that as we felt we have done everything through the right channels. But I spoke to Roy Keane about this so it shows how long it's gone on.”
Yesterday, Blues boss Paul Jewell said he was similarly "disappointed" that Cotterill was talking publicly about his move for Norris.
Jewell also said his captain hadn’t told him that he wants to move to Portsmouth and revealed that he plans to hold talks with both Norris and Gareth McAuley, whose deal is also up at the end of the season, later this week.