Republic of Ireland international Forde joins Pompey

Pompey have ended their search for a goalkeeper by bringing in Republic of Ireland international David Forde from Millwall.

Manager Paul Cook has been looking for a keeper to challenge Paul Jones on his return from injury and the experienced stopper joins on a season-long loan.

36-year-old Forde has played over 330 times for Millwall since joining in 2008 but found himself on the bench for much of last season as Jordan Archer claimed the number one spot. He was part of the Lions squad that won the League One play offs in 2010 and was voted player of the year as recently as 2014.

Forde was part of the Republic of Ireland squad that reached the knockout stages of Euro 2016, although he didn’t make an appearance as Darren Randolph was preferred by Martin O’Neil.

Cook has been searching for a keeper for much of the off season as Paul Jones returns from a lengthy injury lay off and teenager Alex Bass is currently the only other permanent keeper on Pompey’s books.

The League Two giants struggled to find a consistent starter between the sticks last season with Jones injured. Brian Murphy and Liverpool youngster Ryan Fulton shared the duties for much of the regular season before injuries forced Cook to draft in Ryan Allsop from Bournemouth as an emergency loan for the two-legged play off semi final.