Manchester City have clinched a £10 million deal for Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra, it has been revealed.

The People says City have beaten Tottenham and Manchester United to the signing of Diarra.

City have blown their rivals out of the water with an £85,000-a-week wage offer and the deal is described as 'virtually done'.

Under-fire City chief Mark Hughes is desperate to shore up his struggling team with a quality holding midfielder.

Diarra, 23, has a get-out clause in his Pompey deal enabling him to talk to any club who offer £10m.

Ex-Pompey chief Harry Redknapp wanted to take Diarra to Spurs and United chief Alex Ferguson saw him as a replacement for injury hit Owen Hargreaves.

But neither can compete with City's skyhigh wage offer as the club's new Arab owners flex their muscles.