STOKE CITY have today been notified that Portsmouth have not had the permanent transfer of Liam Lawrence to Fratton Park authorised by the Football League . . . and are now working to try and find a solution to the late-hitch in that original agreement.
Lawrence, who is currently on international duty with the Republic of Ireland, was lined up to complete a permanent move to Pompey as part of a player-plus-cash agreement that saw Marc Wilson join the Potters and David Kitson move in the opposite direction.
A last-minute hold-up in Portsmouth getting vital paperwork through to register the transfer with the Football League means City are now exploring a solution to the problem.
That is likely to involve the midfielder joining Portsmouth on loan until the January transfer window opens, at which point he will then complete a permanent move.
It is not expected that this hiccup will have a long term impact on the agreement which resulted in Wilson moving to the Britannia Stadium and Kitson joining Pompey.
"We're disappointed that this transfer hasn't gone through," said City's Chief Executive Tony Scholes. "However, it is important that we work with Portsmouth, the player and the authorities to find an expedient solution as if it had gone through.
"The aim now is to ensure we arrive at the same point for both clubs and, most importantly, for the player who had made up his mind up to join Portsmouth.
"That will probably take the form of a loan move until the end of the year and then Liam would finalise his permanent move to Fratton Park in the January window. Clearly, we will co-operate with Portsmouth, the player and the authorities to arrive at a solution all parties desire."
If both clubs get the go-ahead to set up the loan move, Lawrence is expected to join up with Kitson at Fratton Park, as originally planned, on his return from international duty this week.
