West Ham United and Fulham are interested in Valencia defender Mouctar Diakhaby with the Premier League transfer market set to slam shut on Monday, according to FootMercato.
It has been a window of frustration for a pair of London teams who, with just four days remaining, are yet to sign the new centre-half they are crying out for.
West Ham’s 4-1 thrashing at the hands of an electrifying Everton in the Carabao Cup once again exposed the lack of defensive depth at David Moyes’ disposal, with Fabian Balbuena an accident waiting to happen and Declan Rice far more comfortable in his all-action midfield role.
The Hammers have missed out on the likes of James Tarkowski and the Leicester-bound Wesley Fofana in recent weeks, although there is a new name on their radar now.
FootMercato reports that Diakhaby, a 23-year-old Frenchman who joined Valencia in a £13 million deal from Lyon in 2018, is a target for not only West Ham but also local rivals Fulham.
A former France U21 international who shot to fame during Lyon’s run to the Europa League semi-finals three years ago, Diakhaby would be a welcome addition to a Fulham side who have lost all three of their Premier League games so far.
Only one newly-promoted team in the competition’s history (Slaven Bilic’s West Brom, funnily enough) have conceded more than their ten goals in the first three matches of a new season.
French champions Paris Saint-Germain are another club among Diakhaby’s admirers.
Talented though he may be, there is a nagging feeling that Diakhaby has failed to kick on since Valencia rejected a £36 million bid from Wolves last summer.
Former Los Che coach Albert Celades even claimed that the defender was costing his side points with a series of high-profile errors in 2019/20 (Marca).
West Ham’s record transfers
- Sebastien Haller
£45 million
- Felipe Anderson
£41.5 million
- Marko Arnautovic
£25 million
- Pablo Fornals
£24 million
- Issa Diop
£22 million
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