The Cameroon international Lauren believes Real Madrid have got themselves a potential star if they complete the signing of his Portsmouth teammate Lassana Diarra.
Portsmouth confirmed earlier this week they had accepted a "substantial" bid from Madrid for Diarra, 23, and had given permission for the player, currently sidelined by an ankle injury, to talk to the Spanish giants.
Madrid, who are looking to bolster their midfield after seeing Mahamadou Diarra and Ruben de la Red ruled out for the season, have yet to confirm a deal has been struck with Diarra, but Lauren feels the Primera Liga champions will not regret bringing in the French international.
Lauren has spent the last year playing alongside Diarra at Fratton Park and he believes the ex-Chelsea and Arsenal man offers more than both his namesake at the Bernabeu, Mahamadou, and former Madrid defensive midfielder Claude Makelele.
"He reminds me a lot of Makelele. For his physique, for the way he moves on the field and for his position, because he steals a lot of possession in the middle of the pitch," said Lauren, who played for Levante and Real Mallorca in Spain before moving to England with Arsenal in 2002.
"But there is a big difference between them, and that is that Lassana has also got a great long pass. As well as that, he takes up good positions in attack. He is a very complete footballer. Madrid will get themselves an ace."
Meanwhile, the Portsmouth manager Tony Adams is "100 per cent confident" he will be allowed to re-invest the full proceeds from Diarra's proposed sale.
And as Adams plans for his first transfer window next month as a top-flight manager, he hopes to have picked up a few tricks of the trade from Harry Redknapp.
The final decision on the Diarra bid was left to Adams, but he had no intention of standing in the player's way, despite the fact Portsmouth will miss his commanding midfield presence.
Adams' focus is now on bolstering his squad, and he expects to be given funds by the Portsmouth owner Alexandre Gaydamak.
"My job now is to get the recruitment right and add to the squad.
"I have had players in mind since I have been in the job. You have to get it right. Harry was fantastic at it and hopefully I have learned a bit off the master.
* With Agencies
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs: 2018 GMC Terrain
Price, base / as tested: Dh94,600 / Dh159,700
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 353Nm @ 2,500rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.4L / 100km