Winger arrives on three-year deal
Pompey have further strengthened their squad with the signing of winger Andy Barcham on a three-year deal.
The 26-year-old will officially join the Blues when his Scunthorpe contract expires on July 1.
He scored 11 goals in 84 appearances for The Iron after arriving at Glanford Park in the summer of 2011.
Barcham said: “It wasn’t really a big decision to make what with the size of the club and stadium and the terrific fanbase.
“After standing in the South Stand and gazing down onto the pitch, it looks a wonderful place for a winger to come and play.
“I like to go forward, attack and get at opposition players – this is the perfect place to be able to do that.
“Given some of the wingers that have been at Pompey in the past, I hope I can do the wide-man status justice.
“When I was here with Scunthorpe last season there was no evidence whatsoever that the club were having any problems.
“The fans still stood up, made a lot of noise and were proud of their team. That’s an unbelievable advantage when you’re out on the pitch.
“It will be great to play regularly on their side rather than come up against them every now and then.”
Blues boss Guy Whittingham said: “We didn’t really have any out-and-out wide players in the team last season and I think it was important we got at least one in.
“Andy can give us a bit of excitement on the wing and offers us that touch of creativity that could prove to be the difference.
“When you go for a winger you research a lot of things, like his record in scoring goals and providing assists.
“It’s important to have players who create goals and others who can get on the end of those creations. We looked at several players and Andy was the one we opted for.”
Barcham is a product of Tottenham’s academy, who signed his first professional contract in 2005.
He had loan spells at Leyton Orient and Gillingham before joining the latter on a permanent deal in 2009.
Barcham scored 23 goals in 115 games for the Kent side before heading north to sign for Scunthorpe.
He was an unused substitute when Pompey recorded their first home win of the campaign against The Iron last season and played 45 minutes of the return fixture at Glanford Park.