OPINION
West Ham must spring into action now in their reported pursuit of Toulouse defender Issa Diop or make a huge blunder by missing out on his services.
The 21-year-old centre-back is the perfect option for the Hammers to take when looking to improve their defensive options at the back as Diop ticks practically ever box.
According to the Daily Mirror‘s Live Transfer Blog (Saturday, 18:29) Manuel Pellegrini was aware of this fact and was determined to sign Diop for his new club despite the likes of Arsenal,Tottenham and Barcelona being aware of the defender’s talents.
Since then there have been several more Premier League teams linked to his services as the Daily Mail have recently claimed that Fulham and Everton are also checking out the defender as they bid to bolster their options at the back.
It is in the Mail’s report that it is claimed that Toulouse would be willing to listen to offers in the region of £26million for their defender and this should have the Hammers lodging a bid now rather than later.
Diop, who shone in his 41 appearances in his 2017/18 campaign, is fantastic in the air, strong in the challenge, very mobile and is beyond comfortable when playing the ball out from the defence.
All these qualities would see him be a remarkable signing to really see out Pellegrini’s ambitious plans for the Hammers but with clubs continuing to join the queue for his services, the Hammers could foolishly miss out.
There should be nothing holding the London club back from striking now as with a price tag of £26million and the Hammers’ clear need to improve their defence, they shouldn’t be hesitating about trying to get Diop as there’s no reason to.
If they wait around weighing up whether to make their interest concrete another club will jump in and get his services as it’s a no-brainer to pick up the 21-year-old who will only get better as he gets more games under his belt.
Therefore the Hammers must strike now and not wait around otherwise they could live to regret it especially if he ends up in the Premier League at another club.
