Franco Umeh Signs For The Blues

Promising attacker Franco Umeh has joined Portsmouth for a fee reported to be in the region of £500,000.

Whilst the official line from PFC is that the fee is "undisclosed", as are most transfers nowadays, reports from the BBC suggest that Umeh arrives for approximately half a million pounds.

Reputable football reporter Chris Wise states that the arrival of Umeh was originally supposed to be as part of a loan deal, however negotiations since the initial contact have meant that the transfer has developed into a permanent one.

Understand #Pompey are close to signing Crystal Palace winger Franco Umeh. Club initially explored loan deal, but appears it’s now going to be a permanent transfer. One source suggests the fee is around £500,000.

With @iamAlexHowell. #cpfc #bbcfootball

— Chris Wise (@chriswisey) September 1, 2025

Franco Umeh plays predominantly on the wing and has been involved in the Crystal Palace Under-21s setup since signing from Cork City in 2022.

In face, as a result of that move 3 years ago, the now-20-year-old has not competed at senior level since his playing time in his home country of Ireland.

He has, however, gained valuable experience in Premier League 2 and on the international stage too, earning call-ups for the Republic of Ireland Under-17s, Under-18s, Under-19s and Under-21s.

During his time at Palace, Umeh was part of the side's Under-21s team that won the Premier League International Cup, scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Dutch opposition Jong PSV in May 2024.

Throughout the 2024/25 Premier League season, the youngster was involved in many of The Eagles' matchday squads and made up the Oliver Glasner's bench on several occasions, however failed to earn his senior debut at any stage.

For even more transfer deadline day news, be sure to follow us on X: @PompeyOnExpress and tune into the next instalment of The Football Hour, which returns tonight (September 1st) with not 1 but 2 hours of Pompey talk, airing between 6-8pm in order to go through the biggest late transfer deals confirmed just after the 7pm deadline. Jake Smith will be hosting the show with Tom Chappell and Andrew Barnard assisting.