Lassana Diarra's arrival from Real Madrid is expected to see Tottenham sell Luka Modric to Chelsea.
The Independent says Diarra, who played for the Spurs manager Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth, left Fratton Park for Real in 2008 for £20m but has largely slipped out of first-team contention since the arrival of Jose Mourinho at the Bernabeu last year.
The signing of the France international will heighten speculation that Tottenham are preparing to part company with Modric, who has been the subject of two bids from Chelsea. On Wednesday, Redknapp admitted that selling the Croatian playmaker for a free approaching £30m would give him the funds to bring in four players and, in the words of the manager, leave him with "a better side".
Diarra, 26, first arrived in England in 2005 when joining Chelsea from Le Havre. He was seen as the long-term replacement for Claude Makélélé but grew frustrated at his lack of first-team chances at Stamford Bridge and moved to Arsenal two years later. However, he could not force himself into a Gunners side challenging strongly at the top of the Premier League and left for Portsmouth for £5.5m in January 2008.
