 |
| Mahamadou Diarra |
| Pos. |
Midfielder |
| DOB |
18/05/81 |
| POB |
Bamako,
Mali |
| Hgt |
6' 00 |
|
Wikipedia |
Fulham manager Martin Jol believes he has taken a significant step towards securing Fulham's Barclays Premier League future after signing former Real Madrid midfielder Mahamadou Diarra for the rest of the season.
The 30-year old, an integral part of Real's midfield under Fabio Capello, has agreed a contract for the rest of this season and hopes to do enough to persuade Jol he is worth a long-term deal.
Renowned as a tough-tackling anchor man and capped 64 times by Mali, Diarra has been without a club since leaving Monaco last summer. But Jol is convinced he has the experience and physical strength to succeed in the Premier League and will confirm the transfer today.
Diarra made his name in tandem with Michael Essien at Lyon and became Capello's prime transfer target in the summer of 2006, when the then Real coach urged president Ramon Calderon to see off competition from Manchester United in the race to sign him.
A fee of around £22million eventually took him to the Bernabeu, and he made 122 appearances for Real before joining Monaco as a free agent last January.