Glen Johnson, the England right back, has joined Portsmouth from Chelsea for an undisclosed fee. The former West Ham United defender has signed a four-year deal at Fratton Park after agreeing the terms of a transfer thought to be worth about £4 million to the London club. Johnson, 23, returns to the South Coast after spending last season on loan with the club.

After emerging as a promising talent with West Ham, Johnson became one of the first Chelsea buys in the wake of Roman Abramovich’s takeover when he moved across the capital for £6 million in the summer of 2003.

He failed to live up to his price tag, however, and found himself marginalised when Jose Mourinho arrived as manager a year later. As a result he has slipped out of the England reckoning, but he hopes to follow in the footsteps of new team-mates Sol Campbell and David James by playing his way back into Steve McClaren’s team.

“It’s great for Sol Campbell and David James to get back in the England squad, obviously they deserve it,” he said. “I just want to play as many games as I can here and see what happens.”

Johnson is delighted to be returning to a familiar environment. “It’s a fantastic move for me,” he said. “Portsmouth’s a fantastic club with a lot of nice people. I learnt that when I was here last season. So it was an easy decision to make. It feels like I’ve never been away.

“The fact that I played here last season was a massive factor in my decision - I knew what the club was like.

“Harry Redknapp was a massive factor, too. I had to think about the move a bit, it’s nice to have interest from other clubs. But deep down I knew where I wanted to go, especially after the success we had last season, when I enjoyed it here.”

His signing bolsters Redknapp’s defensive ranks, with Dejan Stefanovic joining Fulham on a two-year deal for £1million today, subject to a work permit.