West Ham United cannot sell Issa Diop unless Nayef Aguerd cover is brought in
West Ham believe they can’t sell Issa Diop unless they bring in cover for injured defender Nayef Aguerd, according to Jacob Steinberg.
The Moroccan arrived earlier in the window for £30million but has now been ruled out for three months after injury in the preseason game against Rangers.
Out-of-favour former record-signing Diop appeared to be on the brink of a move across London to Fulham, but the club are now not willing to let him go unless they can find another defender, potentially on loan.
Guardian reporter Steinberg wrote on his personal Twitter account on Wednesday evening (27 July): “West Ham also reluctant to sell Issa Diop to Fulham with Nayef Aguerd ruled out for around 12 weeks.
“Feeling is they can’t let Diop go unless they find cover at centre-back (maybe a loan)”.
When Aguerd is fit the Frenchman has now been relegated to fifth-choice behind Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson.
Safety first
This is an awkward log jam any way it’s viewed, as it required significant expense and no little struggle to secure the former Rennes man this summer.
That he has been ruled out long-term before he has even featured in an official Hammers match is incredibly unlucky, but the knock-on effects compound the misfortune.
Shifting Diop, who is a good player but has proven to be too inconsistent for manager David Moyes’ liking, would have not only brought in a decent fee but taken a largely unwanted player off the wage bill.
Now that option is ruled out, and in order to resurrect it West Ham need to find another player to add on top, who will presumably be surplus to requirements themselves once Aguerd is back to full fitness.
After Ogbonna missed most of the 2021/22 season with an ACL injury and headline signing from last summer Zouma also missed time, central defence is becoming somewhat of a problem position for the Irons despite having an abundance of players on the books who can play there.
In an ideal world a short-term loan for a decent quality player would be worked out and Diop would be let go to find proper game time elsewhere.
But the number options that would be available for such a move and are good enough to be relied on if necessary is surely not high.