West Ham United sale of Issa Diop to Lyon ready to be finalised after recent developments
Lyon are hoping to finalise a deal for West Ham defender Issa Diop after talks “intensified” recently, according to L’Equipe in France.
The 25-year-old became the odd man out in the Hammers defence once the signing of Nayef Aguerd from Rennes was secured.
Once the club’s record signing, at £22million in 2018, the Frenchman’s form has been inconsistent, making him surplus to requirements now that David Moyes has his new Moroccan signing and others are back from injury.
Last summers’ signing Kurt Zouma suffered knocks in his first season with the club while veteran Angelo Ogbonna was ruled out long-term with an ACL injury, but both should be fit for the start of the new season.
Claret & Hugh had reported last week (20 June) that a move back to Ligue 1 was likely for Diop, with Lyon battling Monaco for his signature, and the former look to be set to win that battle.
Fresh start
The former France under-21 hasn’t been a disaster in his time with the club but he has never developed into the dominant figure at the back that the Irons would have hoped for when they made him their record signing.
At this stage in his career it is probably best for all parties that he moves on and gets a chance to kickstart his career again.
It seems unlikely that the club will be able to make a profit on his sale but if they can recoup a chunk of the £25million outlay on Aguerd it would not be the worst business.
Despite extensive injury issues at the position in the 2021/22 season Diop only managed a total of 24 appearances in all competitions, with just 12 coming in the Premier League.
The writing was therefore on the wall for his long-term prospects at the London Stadium and his exit now looks to be only a matter of time.
He had success in his home country before so could well rebuild his reputation there, and if he does leave this summer he will do so having made a total of 118 appearances in a West Ham shirt while scoring eight times.