Manuel Pellegrini is convinced new West Ham signing Issa Diop is a “better version” of £42million Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala, according to a club insider.
Ex-WHU Employee, who serially breaks Hammers news first, revealed on the West Ham Way podcast broadcast on Phoenix FM on Tuesday night (19:53) that the recently-appointed manager was key to the club smashing their transfer record to land Diop for a fee David Gold claims is more than £23million.
“We’ve beaten off a number of clubs to sign him, which is quite an achievement for us,” Ex-WHU Employee explained. “Pellegrini was part of the factor that he came.
“He was identified by David Sullivan but Pellegrini wanted him and pushed it through. He seems him as a better version of Mangala, who he signed for Man City.”
OPINION
Mangala cost a princely £42million when he joined Man City from Porto in 2014, at which point Pellegrini had been in charge for a year and already won the league title. The 27-year-old is an eight-times France international but has failed to live up to either that monster fee or the expectations foisted upon him. His standing was evident last season from the fact that he was loaned out to Everton, where he struggled and suffered knee problems. It will be a comfort to Irons that Pellegrini rates Diop so highly and that he is not just a signing engineered by Sullivan, who has a history of bungling transfers and bringing in players who do not live up to their fees. Simone Zaza is one of the best recent examples. West Ham have spent big to cure their centre-back problem, and Diop has some way to go before he is a fully-fledged France international. But he has all the attributes to be a star, and Pellegrini’s judgement will be proved right if he lives up to his potential in a way that Mangala never has done.
