Player Profile

Yebda has impressed at Portsmouth on a season-long loan from Benfica, although he only made nine appearances in 2010 due to international duty and knee and thigh injuries.

His winning goal at Wolves in October gave Portsmouth their first points of the season, and he also clinched victory at Burnley in February with a penalty. Portsmouth had the option to buy Yebda but could not afford the £4m fee.

Born in a suburb of Paris, the box-to-box midfielder represented France at youth level and played in five of the six matches for the Under-17 side that won the 2001 World Championship.

He has benefited from Fifa’s decision last year to remove the age limit for players who want to switch national allegiance, and was an ever-present at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

Yebda made an inauspicious top-flight debut at the age of 22, scoring an own goal 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute for Le Mans in February 2007. He had started his career at Auxerre but was released without making an appearance for the club. In 2008 he almost ended up at Wigan before Benfica decided to move for him.