While West Ham have made the first move to try and take Issa Diop away from Toulouse, they aren’t the only Premier League clubs interested in the 21-year-old’s services.
Already the Ligue 1 side’s captain at such a young age, the youngster is widely regarded as one of the more talented young centre-backs in France, and it’s been reported in the past he’s ‘aware’ he needs to leave to further his career.
According to L’Equipe on Wednesday in the same article reporting West Ham’s €15-20m bid, Everton, Fulham and RB Leipzig are also interested in Diop for the coming season.
Toulouse haven’t responded to the Hammers as of yet, perhaps hoping for a bidding war if the Toffees and the Cottagers get involved at some point in the near future.
With Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka closer to retirement than not, Everton are only really left with Michael Keane as a long-term option in the centre of defence, hence Marco Silva’s potential interest in Diop.
As for Fulham, the newly promoted club only have Marcelo Djaló and Tim Ream to count on so far for a tough Premier League season, having rid themselves of Richard Stearman, Michael Madl and Cameron Sturgess over the past six months.
Therefore, it isn’t surprising to see Slavisa Jokanovic keen on bolstering his defence this summer, and bringing in someone like Issa Diop, full of experience but still very young, would make a lot of sense.
It would cost either club a pretty penny, judging by West Ham’s bid, but it most certainly would be worth it.
