Championship side Charlton Athletic have completed the signing of former France national team captain, Alou Diarra, on a short-term contract.

The 33 year old defensive midfielder has been without a club following his release from West Ham United at the end of last season and has moved across London to join Guy Luzon’s team until the end of this season.

The defender was previously on Bayern Munich’s and Liverpool’s books before going on to represent several clubs, including Lens, Lyon, Bordeaux and Marseille and is expected to go straight into the squad to face Derby County this Tuesday.

First team manager Guy Luzon has expressed his delight at signing the experienced midfield lynchpin, who has won Ligue 1 with both Lyon and Bordeaux. He told the club’s website: “He will add some height, experience and, most of all, quality to the midfield.

“We lost Milos [Veljkovic] to injury and Johnnie Jackson is out for a month, so he will help us to bring results and more points… It’s a coup for us that we can attract a player with so much international experience and I’m sure he will be fantastic for us.”

Diarra represented France on 44 occasions, captaining the side several times under Laurent Blanc. He appeared in two World Cups for Les Bleus, experiencing ups and downs as he appeared as a substitute in the 2006 World Cup final defeat, and was also part of the 2010 squad which returned home in ignominy after the Knysna strike.

However, he was rehabilitated under new coach Laurent Blanc, for whom he captained Bordeaux. Blanc held him in such high esteem that, under him, Diarra wore the armband for les Bleus on several occasions too. Blanc has said of Diarra: “I’m lucky to know the man. And he really is a great lad… He plays in a position where there are a lot of clashes and he loves that, but he goes into them fairly and with respect. He is a player who is hard and strong, these are among his qualities.”

And who are we to contradict his favourite coach? Diarra has never been the most mobile of players and, at 33, Charlton should fans not expect a box-to-box midfielder. But what you see is what you get: a hard-tackling, hard-working player who will shield his defence and lead by example both on and off the pitch. His experience at the highest level can only benefit the team, and his time spent in England means that he will need little adaptation time. Diarra is a canny addition to the Addicks squad, who will help the team to allay any lingering fears of relegation and instead focus on a top 10 finish.