West Ham United have accepted a bid of £17million from London rivals Fulham to sign French centre-back Issa Diop this summer.
First reported by Foot Mercato, football.London understands that the Hammers have accepted a bid from newly-promoted Fulham to sign Diop, with the centre-back not featuring for David Moyes’ side on Sunday during their 2-0 defeat to Manchester City at the London Stadium.
The Hammers currently have a shortage of available centre-backs, with Ben Johnson having to feature as a makeshift option next to Kurt Zouma against Pep Guardiola’s side. Craig Dawson (thigh) and Nayef Aguerd (ankle) are both currently sidelined, while Angelo Ogbonna is currently working on a comeback from a cruciate ligament rupture that he suffered last November.
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However, while Diop is not currently injured, he was not in the squad in the opening weekend defeat after not making himself available to play.
After the defeat, Moyes told football.London: "No, Issa Diop is not injured at the minute. Issa Diop didn’t put himself forward to play in the last couple of games and we will see what happens with that in the next couple of weeks." Asked if Diop will leave the club, Moyes replied: "I don't know.”
Diop’s exit, should it be completed, will see the Frenchman leave with just a year left on his contract at the London Stadium, making 121 appearances for the club and scoring eight goals in all competitions.
His exit would go towards funding further signings, with the Hammers already spending £100m on signing Nayef Aguerd, Flynn Downes, Alphonse Areola, Gianluca Scamacca and Maxwel Cornet this summer.
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