The deal will see Shein play for Pompey on a three-year contract, after he was signed from top-flight Norwegian club Fredrikstad.

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho told the club website: "We're delighted to continue our summer transfer activity with the signing of Rocco. He will provide us with plenty of physicality in the center of the pitch, but is also someone who is very comfortable on the ball. Rocco has already made a great deal of progress over the past few years and is still young, so we feel he can continue to improve with us."

While Portsmouth FC did not disclose Shein's transfer fee, Norwegian TV channel TV2 confirmed it was worth around 28 million Norwegian kroner (approximately €2.4 million) and followed several weeks negotiations.

✍️ Pompey have completed the signing of Rocco Shein!

The midfielder joins from Fredrikstad for an undisclosed fee.

— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) July 13, 2026

Only former Liverpool FC defender Ragnar Klavan, legendary 'keeper Mart Poom and current Werder Bremen goalkeeper Karl Jakob Hein have been transferred for larger sums than that reported for Shein.

Shein, 23, began his club career at Tallinn FC Flora, where he also played in European competitions. From there, he moved to top Dutch club Utrecht and also spent time at Dordrecht. He joined Fredrikstad at the start of 2025, helping the team to an eighth place finish in the Eliteserien last season.

He made his senior international debut in 2022 and has been capped 25 times.

Portsmouth finished 18th in the second tier Championship at the end of last season, having been promoted the preceding season. They were last in the Premier League in 2010 and saw several years' financial difficulty in the seasons following. They are one of only a handful of teams to have been through their history champions of all the top four tiers of English club football.

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