Storrie: Benjani 'fell asleep'

Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie has revealed that Benjani Mwaruwari's transfer to Manchester City failed to take place on transfer deadline day because the player fell asleep when he was supposed to be catching an aeroplane to the north-west.

The protracted deal, which City claimed had fallen through just after the January window closed at midnight last Thursday, was finally completed on Tuesday after the Zimbabwe international signed a two-and-a-half-year deal.

"In his own inevitable, wonderful way - and we all love Benji so much - he falls asleep at the airport and misses two planes," Storrie said in The Times.

He added: "You couldn't write the script. The next plane at 7 o'clock got cancelled and the 8.30 was delayed. It just made the whole situation a fiasco."

City will pay an initial £3.87million up front, with the remaining half of the £7.75million fee due to be paid in three instalments when the 29-year-old makes 25, 50 and 75 starts for Sven-Goran Eriksson's team.

Storrie has also stressed he is entirely happy with the fitness of Benjani, and claims that was part of the reason why the club allowed City to pay for him in instalments.

City had expressed concerns about a knee injury Benjani had surgery on 18 months ago and tried to renegotiate the deal.

But after the Premier League confirmed the paperwork for the switch had been submitted before the midnight deadline last week, the two clubs managed to thrash out a settlement and Storrie is satisfied Pompey will eventually get all their money.

"We, of course, are confident of him playing the required number of games, otherwise we would not have agreed to the deal," he told his club's official website.

"City had expressed some concern over a knee operation 18 months ago but, as Benji has never shown any sign of trouble since the operation and rarely misses a match or training, we were happy to come to this arrangement."