West Ham’s defensive woes are set to continue after it was reported that Issa Diop is edging closer to a move to Fulham.
Last season, the Hammers had an issue with depth in central defense following Angelo Ogbonna’s season-ending ACL injury and the likes of Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson both going through periods of injury themselves.
It meant Issa Diop was often called upon, despite being Moyes’ fourth choice in that position.
Moyes addressed those issues earlier this summer by signing Morocco international Nayef Aguerd, but the 26-year-old is sidelined for around 10 weeks with an ankle injury.
Furthermore, West Ham were left with just one available centre-back for their Premier League defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, with Ogbonna not yet fully recovered, Dawson sidelined with a thigh strain and Diop reportedly refusing to be available for selection.
Moyes confirmed the Frenchman’s behaviour following their 2-0 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side on Sunday afternoon, by saying: “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.”
And now it appears Diop is on the verge of leaving east London to head west of the capital, with MailOnline claiming a £15m deal has been struck.
It leaves Moyes worryingly short in defence once again, and could force him back into the transfer market for a centre-back.
While Ben Johnson deputised admirably alongside Zouma against City, he cannot be used as a long-term alternative while we wait for Dawson and Aguerd to return to full fitness.
It is not yet known how long Dawson is sidelined for but if he’s sidelined for a few weeks at least, then we should expect Moyes and Rob Newman to be back in the market for a replacement quickly.
Since signing from Toulouse for £22m in 2018, Diop has made 121 first-team apeparances for West Ham in all competitions, scoring eight goals.
