Issa Diop could be offered a route out of West Ham United with Premier League rivals Wolves, Southampton and Crystal Palace keen on the talented centre-back, as reported by FootMercato.
As recently as 2019, Sky Sports claimed that West Ham were refusing to accept a penny less than £60 million for a player who had forced his way onto Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s summer wishlist.
At the time, a big-money move to Old Trafford felt like the natural next step for Diop, on the back of an outstanding debut season at West Ham.
“(Diop had a) fantastic match,” an embattled Jose Mourinho said back in October 2018 after he led the way during West Ham’s 3-1 thrashing of Man United at the London Stadium.
“Congratulations to the scout that found a 21-year-old kid Diop – a monster who dominated in the duels.”
With all due respect to the likes of Crystal Palace and Southampton, suggestions that Diop is now attracting interest from clubs of that stature – rather than Manchester United – highlights the fact that his development has plateaued somewhat during the David Moyes era at West Ham.
Will West Ham really let Issa Diop go to a Premier League rival?
The former Toulouse captained might have enjoyed a strong end to 2020/21 but it took until February – and an injury to the in-form Angelo Ogbonna – for Diop to force his way into Moyes’ starting XI.
With West Ham now looking to bring in a new centre-half amid links with Mert Muldur, Nayef Aguerd and Nikola Milenkovic, Diop may be forced to look elsewhere for more regular game-time.
And he could find them at a Crystal Palace side embarking on a substantial rebuilding project, prioritising young talent with real potential.
Southampton endured a pretty miserable 2020/21 from a defensive standpoint, while Wolves could lose Willy Boly to Nuno Espirito Santo’s Tottenham.
FootMercato add that clubs have already tried to take Diop on loan with an option to buy but, so far, West Ham have refused to budge.
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