£15million Alonso To Join The Ramos Real Revolution?

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La Liga Champions Real Madrid have reportedly made a £15million offer for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, with former Tottenham Hotspur boss Juande Ramos keen to bolster a depleted midfield at the Bernabeu, according to reports.

Ramos is already reportedly on the verge of signing Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra and now reports in Spain claim that Spanish International Alonso has also been the subject of a bid from Los Merengues. Ramos revealed on Monday that he needed two new players at the Bernabeu in January, with the former Spurs boss identifying the Madrid midfield as an area that needed strengthening.

Ramos told As: “We want a right winger and a midfielder. The club are working on it and I’m hopeful two talented players with a fighting spirit will join us pretty soon.”

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez was eager to offload 27-year-old Alonso in the summer to raise the funds to buy Gareth Barry from Aston Villa. However, Serie A giants Juventus, who were keen on the midfielder baulked at the Merseyside clubs asking price and opted for Christian Poulsen at Sevilla instead.

Now with defensive-midfielder Mahamadou Diarra out through long-term injury, Ramos has found himself short in the centre of midfield and is believed to have made a firm offer for Alonso, who has been at Anfield since 2004 and has made 183 appearances for the Premier League club.

James Plays Down Portsmouth Player Exodus To Spurs

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England International David James has played down a reunion with former Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp at Tottenham Hotspur, with the Pompey keeper insisting that nothing has changed regarding his future at Fratton Park and that he expects his team-mates to stay also.

Since Redknapp took over at White Hart Lane the former Pompey boss has been linked with a number of players at the South coast club, with Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson, Lassana Diarra and James all reported to be on the Redknapp radar.

“Although Harry has left, nothing has changed as far as I'm concerned regarding my future at the club,” James said.

“I'm very confident for the future with the players we've got here. If we'd lost half of the players when Harry left then things might be slightly different.

“But we haven't lost any players and I'm confident we'll continue to do well.

However, while James is confident that other players at Portsmouth will remain at the club the former Liverpool player did concede that if anyone should leave it would be down to financial reasons and that they would have left if Redknapp was still in charge.

“I'd imagine that if any players left, it would be down to financial reasons and nothing else,” he added.

“You could argue that, if some do leave, it would have happened with Harry had he been here anyway.

“Of course, I'm hoping everything will stay exactly as it is.

"We've got some excellent players and I don't know of any who want to leave just because Harry has gone.”

Man City Set To Join Spurs In January Race For Diarra?

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes is set to make a £10million offer for Tottenham Hotspur transfer target, Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra in January. City are also ready to offer the French International, a staggering £85,00-a-week in order to beat off any rival offer by the North London club, according to The Mirror.

23-year-old Diarra has only been at Pompey since his transfer from Arsenal in January and is under contract at Fratton Park until 2011, but it is understood that new manager Tony Adams will have to sell players in when the transfer window reopens in January after taking over from Harry Redknapp at the South coast side.

New Spurs boss Redknapp has also been linked with a move for Diarra in January, with Tottenham lacking a midfield general at White Hart Lane since the departure of Michael Carrick to Premier League Champions Manchester United in 2006. Tottenham are also understood to have had an offer for the Frenchman turned down during the summer, while Redknapp was still in charge at Portsmouth.

Although Tottenham still remain favourites to sign Diarra due to Redknapp’s, existing relationship with the midfielder. City are in a position to offer the former Chelsea player far more in the way of personal terms now that the Manchester club are being bankrolled by the ADUG. Which could see Diarra opt for the Eastlands Stadium rather than a reunion with Redknapp at White Hart Lane.