Redknapp: We Rejected Bid For Diarra

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has admitted that the club rejected a £15 million offer for Lassana Diarra on the final day of the transfer window.

With the finances at Fratton Park subject to increasing concern on the South Coast, owner Alexandre Gaydamak is looking to offload the club as he struggles to cope with the spiralling wage bill.  

Such worries have added credence to speculation that Redknapp would be forced to cash in on the club’s saleable assets, with Diarra reportedly set to join the likes of John Utaka and Niko Kranjcar out of the exit door.  

However, the experienced manager has attempted to play down the speculation, believing that the fact that all players have a price on their head is nothing unique to Pompey.  

"At the moment I don't want to sell anybody. I turned down a £15million bid for Diarra on transfer deadline day. I'm not saying who from - he might want to go there," Redknapp said. 

"But he is worth more than that. You show me a club that's not up for sale if somebody offers fantastic money. 

"I don't know if the owner here wants to sell but I bet every club has a price on it. 

"I know we have fantastic assets here - and they are on the pitch. I've spoken to the owner and he's told me we don't have to sell. 

"We had to sell Sulley Muntari and Pedro Mendes in the summer to get Peter Crouch and and a few others. It happens in football but I wouldn't have a clue what players earn or what they cost. 

"I had to sell Benjani last season which I didn't want to do but I needed to do that to get Defoe who is younger. Nearly every team is in debt and has to sell to buy. Nobody is making millions." 

Diarra played in Porsmouth’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, though an otherwise solid display was tainted with his dismissal late on for two bookable offences.