Peter Crouch is set to leave Portsmouth for Aston Villa today in a £5 million move.

Pompey's leading scorer, who has netted 19 times this season, was brought to the club last summer by Graham Rix from QPR for a bargain £1.25m.

But, after seeing the man he publicly supported sacked on Monday, Crouch has decided it is time to move on.

And after last night's England Under-21 clash with Italy Crouch was adamant that his days at Pompey were over.

"I am going home to get some sleep but will be in Birmingham to see Villa's manager Graham Taylor to discuss terms, said Crouch. Sad but true, it seems more likely than ever I will be leaving Pompey. I have enjoyed my time with them. The fans have been great. But I must think about my future"

The offer has proved too tempting for new boss Harry Redknapp, who hopes to spend the cash on strengthening his squad in the summer.

Pompey's chief executive Peter Storrie commented: "The only pressure on Peter to move on is the lure of the Premier League, playing in Europe and a massive salary.

"When you get an offer for a player of this magnitude you are duty bound to inform him because it would have a massive impact on both his life and playing career.

"From our point of view every player has a price and that has always been made clear.

"With the imminent collapse of the ITV Digital deal and the chance this money would give to completely rebuild the team over the summer we would certainly not stand in the player's way should he choose to go to Villa.

"It is a deal worth nearly £6m to us and there is also a sell-on clause to inflate that further.

"If the deal goes through we will then be in a strong position to add several quality players in key areas to enable us to put in a strong promotion bid come next season."

Storrie confirmed that one of Redknapp's targets will be on show tonight when he plays for Cameroon against Argentina live on Sky Sports before the England v Italy game.

Raymond Nkongo Kallia is a central defender but Storrie promised there were several other players in the pipeline: "This is where the rebuilding begins and we are very conscious of having a tight defence and building upwards from there," he said. "Currently we are also negotiating with another central defender, a left back, a midfielder and a striker. We are very optimistic of the outcome."