Madrid wants £18m for Diarra

Real Madrid reportedly want £18m for Tottenham target Lassana Diarra.

The former Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth midfielder has made a total of 90 appearances for Real Madrid since his £20m transfer from Portsmouth in 2009.

However, the signings of Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop have since pushed Diarra down the pecking order and Madrid are hoping to recoup as much of the £20m they spent on him as they can.

A one-month deadline has been set for Diarra's transfer and should no club match Madrid's valuation of the player, he will be staying with the Spanish giants until January at the earliest as manager Jose Mourinho wants his squad settled and ready for pre-season training this time next month.

Reports suggest Turkish champions Fenerbache have already had a £11m bid rejected and it is speculated that the French international will only welcome a move back to England.