Gallas turning up at Tottenham

Once upon a time, William Gallas was one of the top defenders in the world. He played for Chelsea then Arsenal domestically and was a stud for France.

Father time has caught up to the former Arsenal captain and that's why his free transfer move to Tottenham is hardly headline material anymore.

He will undergo a medical exam tomorrow at Tottenham and then he can move to White Hart Lane.

Gallas, 33, looks set to be added to Spurs' defensive ranks as Harry Redknapp looks to strengthen his squad before the end of the transfer window.

Spurs looked decidedly unconvincing at the back during their 3-2 Champions League qualifying play-off defeat to Young Boys, and the arrival of Gallas would offer them some much-needed top level experience.

Gallas has been available on a free transfer since June, having been released by Arsenal after being unable to agree a new contract at Emirates Stadium.

And the France international, who played for Les Bleus during their disastrous World Cup campaign, will become only the sixth player to have joined Spurs having played for their bitter north London rivals.

The last player to do so was David Bentley, while Rohan Ricketts, David Jenkins, Laurie Brown and Jimmy Brain are the others to have crossed the divide.

Gallas played for Arsenal for four years after moving from Chelsea in 2006, making 101 Premier League appearances for the Gunners.

Race against time: Can Gallas get fit for the World Cup?

France cut down its 30-man roster to 24 with one question mark remaining: the health and fitness level of defender William Gallas.

He was last seen with Arsenal getting carted off against Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League matchup.

Marc Planus of Bordeaux is retained in case Gallas fails to make it to South Africa.

Mickael Landreau (Lille), Rod Fanni (Rennes), Adil Rami (Lille), Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille) and Jimmy Briand (Rennes) have not received invites from Domenech to link up with the training camp, which begins in Tignes on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Mathieu Valbuena was finding it hard to believe he'd made the squad.

"I still cannot believe it,'' Valbuena said on his personal website. "I feel total happiness and a tremendous pride. Being in the France squad which will contest the World Cup, who could believe it? Not even me. I will work hard to make the most of the opportunity.''

Valbuena's place in the squad completes a meteoric rise from playing as an amateur for Libourne Saint-Seurin just four years ago.

France is in Group A with South Africa, Mexico and Uruguay. The French open up with Uruguay on the first day of the tournament, June 11.