New star Issa Diop pinpoints the moment that has kickstarted his West Ham career

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One of the stars of West Ham United’s recent turnaround has been summer signing Issa Diop.

West Ham raised eyebrows in the summer when they splashed out £22.5 million on the France youth captain.

It was some statement from the Hammers as it represented a club record fee paid for a defender.

After a nervy first few games many were wondering whether the money would have been better spent elsewhere.

But Diop has been one of the stars of West Ham’s recent turnaround under Manuel Pellegrini showing maturity beyond his tender years.

The 6ft 3in 21-year-old truly announced himself as a Premier League star in the making, though, in the 3-1 win over Manchester United last time out.

Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho labelled Diop a ‘monster’ and congratulated West Ham’s recruitment team on signing the youngster (BT Sport).

Now in an interview with the club’s official website, Diop has pinpointed the moment that kickstarted his West Ham career.

“It is good my confidence… I think I’ve played a normal game and I need to improve and work hard to play better,” Diop told whufc.com.

“I need to adapt (to the Premier League), but in football you don’t have the time so you need to learn quickly and play well from the first day. I needed to be ready from the start.

“The Premier League is faster and it is box-to-box. In France, the teams don’t go full in the attack, but here all the strikers, the wingers are strong, physical and quick.

“It’s not that easy to defend against. Scoring against Wimbledon was for sure a good moment for me. If I didn’t score, it would have been the same, I would have continued to work hard and have confidence in myself.

“That’s all – I try to do my best on the pitch.”

Diop has been a dominant force during West Ham’s brilliant recent results from the 3-1 win at Everton to the 0-0 draw against Chelsea, 8-0 Carabao Cup win over Macclesfield and the 3-1 victory over Manchester United.

If, as the player says, he still has plenty of room to improve then West Ham fans really are in for a treat and £22.5 million is already looking a snip.