West Ham have turned down a bid of £40million for Issa Diop from Manchester United, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Hammers’ Premier League rivals tabled the offer for the centre back after an impressive first season in the Premier League but that the Irons are looking for around £20million more than what the Red Devils put forward.
The report states that a defender is one of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s top priorities this summer but that the east Londoners are playing hardball over his signing.
Opinion
A fee of £40million is not bad for a player who has only featured for one full season in England’s top flight and the Hammers would be nearly doubling their investment should they sell for such a price. However, it appears as though they are willing to ramp up their demands to a quite astronomical fee in a message of intent to the Old Trafford outfit. They are clearly not looking to sell up any time soon and so only a massive bid will tempt them into negotiating. Is he worth that money? Is anyone really worth £60million? He ticks a lot of boxes in being young, powerful, a physical presence and confident on the ball and his performances last season warrant a hefty price tag. Still, making that step up to challenging for a top-four spot, when the pressure is very much never-ending, could be the undoing of the centre back. It remains to be seen whether he does stay in east London or whether he moves this summer. If he does go, the Hammers are going to have some serious cash to splash themselves.
