Liverpool are set to sign Glen Johnson after reportedly having a bid of around £18m accepted by Portsmouth. The England right-back has been in impressive form this season and the south coast club could cash in after buying him for just £4m in August 2007.
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Glen Johnson: Off to pastures new?
Johnson has been a leading target for manager Rafael Benitez this summer and, after Chelsea withdrew from the race for their former employee, Liverpool now look set to land the 24-year-old.
It had been reported that the Blues and Manchester City had also had bids accepted for the player but, with Chelsea's withdrawal and Johnson's decision to opt against a move to City due to their lack of Champions League football, the path now looks clear for his move to Anfield.
Liverpool are still owed £7m by Portsmouth from the deal that took Peter Crouch to Fratton Park last year and that figure will be written off as part of the Johnson fee; while Andrea Dossena and Alvaro Arbeloa are also on the brink of leaving the club to provide Benitez with more transfer funds.
Johnson has cemented his place as England's first-choice right-back under coach Fabio Capello and played in the two recent World Cup qualifying victories against Kazakhstan and Andorra and should sure up an area in which the Reds have struggled in recent years.
He signed a new four-year deal at Portsmouth in January, but club officials accepted they could not stand in his way if he was offered the opportunity to move a club playing in the Champions League.
Portsmouth are being linked with Tyrone Mears, who spent last season in Ligue 1 with Marseille, as a replacement.
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