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Less glamorous clubs are sharing in Russian involvement in the Premiership with the news that businessman Alexandre 'Sacha' Gaydamak, the 30-year old son of a Russian billionaire, is to become joint owner of Portsmouth after coming to a deal with chairman Milan Mandaric. Mandaric has put an estimated £25m into the club since 1999 and if, as has been suggested, Gaydamak buys him out for £30 million, he will walk away with a profit. A statement from Portsmouth said, 'The pair of then will work together closely to further develop all aspects of Portsmouth Foorball Club, Pompey stadium, Pompey village, as well as a modern training facility.' The long overdue ground improvements at a club where away fans sit on an open terrace may now well happen. Given the location of Fratton Park, however, Pompey Village is unlikely to match Chelsea Village, the collection of hotels and restaurants around Stamford Bridge. As with all incoming directors, Gaydamak will be subject to the FA's 'fit and proper person test' so, until he passes that, the deal cannot officially go through. His father, financier Arcadi Gaydamak, owns Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem, although he lives in Moscow where he is involved in various industrial enterprises and owns a medium-sized bank and brokerage company. The son is a French national, who left France at the age of eighteen, and has largely lived in London since then, making his own fortune in banking and property. In 2000 Paris magistrates issued an arrest warrant to question the father over an alleged arms-for-oil deal with Angola in the early 1990s. Jean-Christophe Mitterand, the son of the former French president, was given a 30-month suspended sentence for his involvement in the affair. Gaydamak Senior denies the tax fraud charges. He has also emphasised that he is not involved in his son's plans for Portsmouth. If Pompey can get an injection of funds in this way, given their perilous position in the Premiership, their under strength squad and their dated ground, there is hope for everyone.
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