With Manchester City said to be actively pursuing the signing of Marseille’s 17-year-old defender Boubacar Kamara, their interest in another young and talented Ligue 1 defender isn’t really a surprise.
According to Le10 Sport, Pep Guardiola is keeping an eye on Toulouse’s Issa Diop’s development, who emerged midway through last season and played a key part in the Ligue 1 side avoiding relegation on the final day.
This isn’t the first report of City’s interest either, with L’Equipe reporting the club ‘concretely expressed interest’ in the player last August.
The French club are said to have already received a €10m offer for their young starlet, who, as well as Manchester City, features on the wishlist of many European clubs such as Juventus, Barcelona, Porto and Real Madrid.
Renewing his contract with Toulouse last summer, Issa Diop has another three and a half years left on his contract, meaning the French side can comfortably ask for a larger than expected fee for his services next summer.
That, and the fact he has started to establish himself for France’s U21s make him one of the more promising centre-backs in France right now alongside Nice’s Malang Sarr.
