Portsmouth coach Johnny Metgod believes Lassana Diarra will improve Real Madrid but insists he is not a replacement for Mahamadou Diarra.Lassana Diarra is due to undergo a medical in the Spanish capital on Monday before putting the finishing touches on his move from Portsmouth, which is reportedly going to cost Madrid around £20million.

Madrid have looked to the 23-year-old to help bolster a squad that has been badly hit by injuries in the last few months, including losing midfielders Mahamadou Diarra and Ruben de la Red for the rest of the season.

The Spanish champions have missed the powerful Mali international Diarra in the heart of their midfield, but Metgod, whilst singing the incoming Diarra's praises, has warned against expecting him to fill the exact same role as his namesake.

"The Diarra of Madrid is a very strong guy. Lassana is very small and plays the ball well," said Metgod, a former Madrid player who is now the assistant coach at Portsmouth.

"He passes well both long and short and has very good vision. He is very intelligent and knows very well how he has to play.

"He is very technical. He uses the ball very well and he doesn't lose it much. He is going to be the player who remains very close to the centre-backs.

"Him, next to (Wesley) Sneijder and Guti, will form a great central midfield," Metgod told Spanish newspaper AS.

"Madrid have not made a mistake with him, although you have to recognise that he is not like (Rafael) Van der Vaart or Sneijder, who are always looking to score."

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