Soccer: Man-marker Nelsen turns Portsmouth's marked man

Ryan Nelsen is a wanted man. He is also going to be a very rich man.

The English football media was reporting yesterday that Blackburn Rovers had turned down a £4 million (NZ$11.8m) bid from Portsmouth to lure away the central defender.

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp is a big fan of the Cantabrian and sees him as pivotal to his plan to turn the club from perennial relegation battlers to mid-table team.

Blackburn Rovers quickly turned down the bid, with boss Mark Hughes - another huge Nelsen fan - eyeing a UEFA Cup campaign this season.

The story is not likely to end there however, with the Daily Mirror reporting Redknapp was still hopeful of luring Nelsen south with a massive pay rise.

The Mirror said: "The New Zealand defender - a key part of Mark Hughes' side - wants to speak to Pompey where he could double his current £650,000-a-year salary."

Nelsen has established himself as one of the Premiership's most reliable defenders since joining from US champions DC United 18 months ago.

He is one of four New zealanders to play English top-flight football along with Danny Hay, Lee Norfolk and Fulham midfielder Simon Elliott.

* Defending Champions Central United won through to the last four of the Chatham Cup with a 2-0 win over cross-town rivals East Coast Bays.

The three-time Cup winners were joined in the last four by Eastern Suburbs, who beat Tauranga City 4-0, and Dunedin's Caversham, who beat Wellington Olympic 2-1 in extra-time. The remaining semi-finalist will be found today when Western Suburbs host Dunedin's Roslyn Wakari.

* Former All White goalkeeper Michael Utting has signed for Waitakere United for the upcoming NZFC season and he could soon be joined by All White skipper Danny Hay.

Utting, 36, is keen to help Waitakere challenge Auckland for this season's title.

Hay has been without a club since he fell out with the New Zealand Knights in December and, while he could have found a contract overseas, didn't want to relocate after settling in Auckland.

He's on the lookout for a "real job" after almost a decade as a professional footballer, but will play for Waitakere when commitments allow it.