Let Dindane play, Grant urges Lens

Avram Grant has renewed his attack on Lens by claiming that the French club are jeopardising their chances of selling Aruna Dindane by denying the striker the opportunity to play out the season with Portsmouth.

Dindane has become a regular for the South Coast side since he arrived on a season-long loan from the French club in August. He earned the penalty which Kevin-Prince Boateng converted to book Pompey's place in next month's FA Cup final, but the 29-year-old looks unlikely to play for Portsmouth again.

If Dindane plays once more he will trigger a clause in his loan contract that will require Pompey to pay £4m to his parent club.

Portsmouth, who went into administration in February, cannot afford to pay the fee and Lens appear unwilling to back down in the row despite pleas from the club's administrator, Andrew Andronikou. The Blackburn manager, Sam Allardyce, recently disclosed he would be interested in signing the player.

Grant believes Lens' refusal to allow Portsmouth to put the striker in the shop window will reduce the likelihood of the Ligue 1 side offloading the striker at the end of the season. "I don't know what is happening with Dindane because I'm not dealing with Lens directly," he said. "But they need to resolve it. If they want to sell Dindane they will make it easier by allowing him to reproduce the kind of performance that he showed in the semi-final against Spurs. I don't understand it but this is their problem."