It may have only been a year since Issa Diop became a West Ham United player, however, he has since become a firm fan favourite in that short period.
The former Toulouse enforcer joined us for a fee of £22million last summer and that rather large investment has turned into a huge coup for us (BBC).
Our defence had been something of a concern prior to his arrival, however, those problems now look to be firmly at the back of our minds as we look more solid than ever with the 22-year-old at the back.
Diop has been nothing but outstanding in the claret and blue in his first 12 months in Manuel Pellegrini’s side, which has led to rumoured interest from the likes of Manchester United in recent days.
Sky Sports claimed that they were prepared to give us £45million to sign him, however, we have already issued them a good old fashioned ‘hands-off’ warning.
Just looking at the defensive stats compiled by WhoScored proves how good and important he has been for us over the year.
In his 33 Premier League appearances, the 22-year-old managed an average of 2.1 tackles per game and an average of 1.9 interceptions per match as he snuffed out the danger in the final third.
West Ham decided to post a tweet celebrating the one-year anniversary of Diop’s arrival and it would be fair to say fans were more than happy to sing his praises and thank him for what he had brought to the London Stadium.
Comparisons appeared to be the order of the day for some supporters as one fan commented by saying he was ‘better than Varane’, whilst another said he reminded them of the legendary Bobby Moore.
Many of them continued to reaffirm their stance that the club should not be tempted to sell him this summer.
Here are just some of their reactions…
Build the team around him and other young stars like (Captain) Rice
— mikejoyce (@hammersmikey) June 19, 2019
Baller ⚒
— Jack Hobbs (@JackHob88613235) June 19, 2019
Yes he is brilliant and he is ours see you soon for the start of the season Issa ❤️⚒
— Mary (@ZaynafamilyMary) June 19, 2019
What a signing it was ⚒
— Oliver Bruton ⚒ (@olliebruton) June 19, 2019
And what a signing!! Just going to get better coming season
— Colette Bunce (@colettedeann) June 19, 2019
He’s better than varane ????⚒
— ben (@benhowlett9) June 19, 2019
This … Selling him would be utterly ridiculous. He and Balbuena look a great partnership which will only get stronger.
— Popscene92 ☮ (@Popscene92) June 19, 2019
Reminds of Bobby Moore ⚒️
— Jimmy Ellison (@JimmyEllison15) June 19, 2019