FORMER Real midfielder Diarra set to join West HamFormer Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra is training with West Ham United who are considering offering the Frenchman a short-term deal until the end of the season.
Diarra, 29, who has also played for Arsenal, Chelsea and Portsmouth in England, Anzhi Makhachkala and Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia and Le Havre in France, has been a free agent since being released by Lokomotiv last year.
“As soon as we get him fit he will be a very good addition to our squad” Hammers manager Sam Allardyce told a news conference on Tuesday ahead of West Ham’s visit to Southampton in the Premier League on Wednesday.
“I certainly hope that he would be close (to playing) after training for seven to 10 days with the lads if he finally signs the contract,” he added.
West Ham have been hit by a spate of injuries over the last few weeks and have slipped from fourth spot in late December to eighth in the table with just one win in their last seven league games.
Diarra, a defensive midfielder who played 28 times for France, was an unused substitute when Chelsea won the FA Cup in 2007 and was in the Portsmouth team that won the FA Cup the following season.
He also picked up a Kings Cup winners medal with Real Madrid in 2011 and a league championship medal with them the following season.