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Portsmouth to sell top players after FA Cup final

David James could be one of the players packing his bags ahead of a move away from Fratton Park © Getty Images

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Six of Portsmouth's FA Cup final team will be told they have to leave the club immediately after Saturday's game against Chelsea is over.

Administrator Andrew Andronikou has confirmed to Soccernet that more than half of the side playing at Wembley this weekend, including goalkeeper David James, will have to move on after the match.

Portsmouth remain in administration, still without a new owner, and have to pay off myriad creditors, with claims against the club rapidly reaching £200 million.

Andronikou told Soccernet: "Half a dozen of the cup final team will have to leave. That is a fact of life. We want to keep the spine of the team, but the rest must go.

"They will be made up of three categories: loanees, those out of contract, and those earmarked to be sold. [Jamie] O'Hara, for example, is one of those players on loan, so he will be sent back to Spurs.

"[Aruna] Dindane is another on loan and he will revert to Lens who plan to sell him on. David James is out of contract, and so won't be offered a new one, and so on.

"Those out of contract will go - their contracts will not be renewed, and there are others we shall sell. In the sense of selling players, we shall be like every other club this summer: when an offer comes in, we shall negotiate and, if we can reach agreement on price, the player will be sold.

"There will be quite a lot of speculation about which players will be sold off, but that is going to be a question of which players attract offers and how much are those offers."

Andronikou does not wish to cause too much upheaval so close to the final, but the reality is that it might turn out that even more than six are kicked out to lower the wage bill.

"I am leaving the football affairs to the manager, Avram Grant, but I have to focus on the finances," Andronikou said. "That is my job - that's what I am here to do."

A host of Premier League clubs, such as West Ham, are keen to pick up some of Pompey's best players on free transfers.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.