Lassana Diarra has a gentleman's agreement with FA Cup
kings Portsmouth that he can quit Fratton Park for one of European
football's heavyweights. The Pompey midfielder, the best player on
the pitch during their 1-0 victory over Cardiff at Wembley on
Saturday, struck the deal when he signed from Arsenal in
January.
Although Diarra is not seeking a move, he remains ambitious to
play for another top club. Portsmouth assistant manager Tony Adams
admitted it would be difficult to hold on to the midfielder after
another eye-catching performance.
Diarra was promised first-team football when he left Chelsea and
moved to Arsenal for £1.5million last summer, but he made just 13
appearances under Arsene Wenger.
Mathieu Flamini was preferred alongside Cesc Fabregas in the
centre of midfield and Diarra started more games for France than
for Arsenal in the first half of the season. Mostly, he was part of
the second string fielded by Wenger in the Carling Cup, in which
his performances were first class.
Despite that impact, Wenger wanted to hold him back for another
season and that did not fit in with the career plans of Diarra, who
was named yesterday in France's squad for Euro 2008.
The 23-year-old has emerged as one of Europe's most promising
holding players — Chelsea once identified him as a potential
successor to Claude Makelele — since his £4m move to Portsmouth and
he is unlikely to be kept waiting long before he is back at the
very top.
Adams said: "If he keeps playing like that, we might lose him.
Portsmouth need to come up to his standards." In Harry Redknapp,
Diarra has finally found a manager who trusts him and he has
responded with some stirring performances.
Diarra said: "He tries to understand every player and tries to
make everyone comfortable. I am very happy for him because he is a
fantastic manager. "I signed for Portsmouth because it is a great
squad. For many of the players, this was their first trophy and it
has been amazing for the manager.
"Everyone knows over the last two weeks what has been happening
with the manager's family and it was important for us to win it for
him because he is a great man. "I am playing well because of the
manager. When you are a player you want to play and show what you
can do on the pitch."
Diarra has certainly been doing that at Portsmouth and his
teammates recognise his enormous contribution on the pitch. Diarra
was an unused substitute for Chelsea during their FA Cup Final
victory over Manchester United last May, but this time he played a
significant part in Portsmouth's win. Although Kanu was made the
sponsors' man of the match, most of the Portsmouth team credited
Diarra with being the best player on view.
Midfielder Niko Kranjcar said: "Diarra played well for us, but
we all played well as a team. We played how we needed to and kept
the ball great. We created chances and scored the goal, then we
continued to control the game until maybe the last minute when they
had a shot blocked.
"I am sure Diarra can be one of the stars of the European
Championship. He can do everything and it is a great coup for
Portsmouth to get a player like him. "It is a great thing for the
club to get international players who have won things in their
careers."