OPINION
It has been a whirlwind weekend for all involved at West Ham – the signing of Pablo Fornals was quickly followed by the club reportedly placing bids for La Liga duo Maxi Gomez and Joan Jordan.
If that wasn’t enough, it was then revealed that Manchester United were preparing a £45million bid, plus a player, in an attempt to lure Hammers’ enforcer Issa Diop to Old Trafford.
Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol revealed on his personal Twitter account that Manchester United are ready an offer for the 22-year-old, with Manuel Pellegrini not prepared to listen to any offers.
After the news of a potential bid broke, Sky Sports revealed on their website that the London club would not listen to any offers that don’t exceed £60million for the French youth international.
West Ham are more than right to ask for upwards of £60million, and could definitely even ask for more. Manchester United were reported by the Mirror to be willing to pay up to £90million for Leicester defender Harry Maguire, and should that be the case, Diop could certainly be worth more than the Hammers’ asking price.
Diop only arrived at the London Stadium last year after the Hammers paid Toulouse only £22million for the French youth international. The young enforcer quickly became a mainstay under Manuel Pellegrini, making 33 appearances in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old compares well to Maguire, with the youngster making more tackles and blocks per game on average last season. Diop makes 2.1 tackles every game, while also making 1.1 blocks in front of goal. [WhoScored]
Compare this to the Leicester defender who only averages a single tackle per game alongside 0.6 blocked attempts on average. [WhoScored]
With Diop enjoying his first full season at the London Stadium, another season of impressive stats could lead to him requiring a much more inflated transfer fee than the reported £60million the Hammers want this season.
