Tottenham Hotspur keen on Real Madrid's Lassana Diarra
Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has been strongly linked with another former Arsenal player with the news that he is said to be ready to bid for Lassana "Lass" Diarra.
After snapping up ex-Gunner William Gallas, Redknapp has begun the process of making a bid for Diarra after inquiring about the Real Madrid midfielder’s availability.
Madrid boss Jose Mourinho is set to trim his squad numbers after signing several high-profile midfielders including Germany 2010 FIFA World Cup stars Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil, Argentina international Angel di Maria and young Spanish duo Pedro Leon and Sergio Canales.
Too many defensive midfield options
With Khedira’s arrival, the club now have four players who can fill the defensive midfield berth along with Lass, Fernando Gago and Mahamadou Diarra. Lass and Diarra appear to be the two most likely to leave the squad with the former also said to be attracting the attention of Manchester United.
Redknapp has worked with Lass before, when he bought him for £5.5m in January 2008 at Portsmouth. The midfielder then generated a massive profit for the club when he was sold a year later to Madrid for £20m. It has been claimed that Redknapp would have to pay around £8.5m to bring the 25-year-old France international to Spurs.
Shone in pre-season
Lass had strongly been linked with the exit door at Madrid, but Mourinho — who signed Lass for Chelsea back in 2005 — has been impressed with his performances and attitude during pre-season. But with Madrid needing to move some players on, the midfielder could be set for a move back to London.
Lass spent just five months at Arsenal in the 2007-08 season but did not enjoy a successful spell there. Should he move to Spurs, he will be just the second player — after Gallas when he makes his debut — to have played competitive football for them, Arsenal and Chelsea.
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