Club’s manager talks up West Ham signing, going to be hard to replace

West Ham United signed Issa Diop from French club Toulouse for a reported €25m.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side were not the only side interested in the centre-back as an earlier report from L’Equipe suggested Sevilla were also keen on the 21-year-old, who has signed a five-year deal with West Ham.

Toulouse manager Alain Casanova believes Diop is a ‘very good player’ with a significant stature in the squad and stressed ‘it’s not easy to replace him’ as the club continue their efforts in finding his successor.

“He [Diop] was a very good player with a significant stature within the group. It’s not easy to replace him, but it works. We contacted a few players, we are still in this research. We will take time to find [Diop’s replacement],” Casanova told French newspaper L’Equipe.

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The Ligue 1 outfit’s manager explained why Diop was so good for his side and due to lack of players similar to his profile, they are struggling to replace the Frenchman.

“Today, more and more clubs want a player with his profile. It is not enough to be strong athletically, but you have to be good in the air and strong in duels,” he stressed.

“It is also necessary to be good in possession and able to play out from the back. There are not a lot of central defenders of this profile.”

Though he has never played outside of France before, Diop has all the qualities to succeed in the Premier League.