Tottenham are making a new bid for Lassana Diarra - and are confident of prising the midfielder away from Portsmouth.

The Guardian says Damien Comolli, the Tottenham sporting director, is an admirer of Diarra, and was disappointed when Arsenal made it clear they would not sell to their north London rivals after the player had agitated for a move.

Comolli, though, believes that he can do business with Portsmouth, having opened a line of communication with them at the end of January, when he oversaw the deal that took the striker Jermain Defoe from White Hart Lane to the south coast. Diarra's name was mentioned in those discussions.