Portsmouth fullback Glen Johnson has hailed the addition of former Chelsea midfielder Lassana Diarra.

Johnson said: "We were joking in training that we're all going to have to learn French because there are so few English lads in our squad.

"But even the foreign guys understand how important the FA Cup is and Diarra is a brilliant addition to our squad.

"I know him from our time together at Chelsea. He is like a young Claude Makelele with pace and strength. Me and him have been down the same road. We moved to a big club and didn't really get the chance to show what we could do.

"But we're happy to have him here and it is good for Lassana to be playing every week."