Issa Diop

Issa Laye Lucas Jean Diop (born 9 January 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club West Ham United.

Diop began his career at his hometown club Toulouse, making his senior debut during the 2015–16 season. He became the club's captain in 2017, before leaving for English club West Ham United in 2018, signing for a club-record fee.

Club Career

Toulouse

Diop was born in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne and played youth football for Balma SC before moving to Toulouse FC in 2006. He began training with the first team in September 2015, and signed a professional contract in November. He was part of an influx of young players to the squad that included Alban Lafont, Zinedine Machach, Alexis Blin and Yann Bodiger.

He made his Ligue 1 debut, aged 18, on 28 November 2015 against Nice, playing the full game alongside fellow debutant Lafont. He scored his first goal in his second appearance on 2 December 2015, contributing to his club's 3–0 win away to fellow relegation strugglers Troyes. He made 21 appearances in his first season, helping the club to eight clean sheets. He was sent off twice during a season in which the club only avoided relegation with a win on the final day.

Diop made 30 Ligue 1 appearances in 2016–17. He was named captain of his local club for the first time in April 2017.

The 2017–18 season saw Diop become club captain in October. Toulouse reached the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France, but again struggled in the league, avoiding relegation after a play-off victory against AC Ajaccio in May 2018.

West Ham United

On 19 June 2018, Premier League club West Ham United confirmed the transfer of Diop, who signed a five-year contract. The fee, reported by British media as £22 million, was not disclosed but was announced as a club record, beating the previous record of £20 million set in July 2017 with the signing of Marko Arnautovic. Diop made his Premier League and West H

This page also has a version in other languages :  Исса Диоп (russian)