Alou Diarra seals loan move to French side Rennes.
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West Ham midfielder Alou Diarra has been allowed to leave Upton Park to join French side Rennes on loan for the remainder of the season.
French international defensive midfielder Diarra was signed on a free transfer from Marseille in the summer, but injuries have hampered his career at West Ham with the 31-year-old making only one appearance.
Capped 44 times by France, Diarra will return to Ligue 1 to extend his career after Rennes secured a deal to sign the centre-back until the end of the season, which West Ham confirmed on their official website, as they look to build on their sixth place in the table in the French top flight.
West Ham, meanwhile, missed out on a transfer target when Stephen Warnock signed on at Championship side Leeds United, who gave him a longer-term deal that the six-month contract on offer at Upton Park.
The England international was wanted on a free transfer to help ease an injury crisis at left-back with George McCartney and Dan Potts ruled out through injury, but he opted for the longer security of Leeds’ proposition.
Warnock had been told he could leave Aston Villa this month after failing to figure in manager Paul Lambert’s plans. He had been loaned to Bolton earlier in the season having been left out of Villa’s 25-man Premier League squad.