Manchester United are interested in signing West Ham defender Issa Diop.
United have identified signing a top-class centre back as a priority this summer, and they have already had a bid for Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, worth £75 million turned down, with indications they will have to offer closer to £100 million to secure his services. They are also interested, along with neighbours, Manchester City, in Leicester’s Harry Maguire. However, Leicester value the player at £80 million, and Diop is seen as a cheaper option to both of them, and they are willing to offer £45 million plus a player for him.
West Ham are in no mood to sell the French under-21 international, who they signed for a fee of £22 million from Toulouse last summer, and are said to want up to £60 million for Diop. The 22-year old made 38 appearances in his debut season for The Hammers, scoring twice.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.