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Issa Diop is the subject of interest from Manchester United. The latest reports claim that West Ham United want £75m for the centre-back.
Football FanCast understands that the interest from Old Trafford is genuine and sources have revealed that United entered into talks with Director of Football Mario Husillos over the last week. It is not clear if the club actually requested Anthony Martial as part of the deal as reported but one source likened Diop’s situation to that of defensive midfielder Declan Rice; he has enjoyed an exceptional season and his value is only set to rise.
Thus, the Hammers are not particularly interested in selling, though a separate source conceded that a “crazy” bid could see the Irons come to the table.
The question here, then, is whether Diop is actually good enough.
Of course, the link with United goes back to Jose Mourinho’s time as manager; following the Red Devils’ 3-1 loss to the Hammers last season, he called Diop a “monster” and congratulated the club’s scouts for discovering him.
That was a thinly-veiled dig at his own club’s scouting department but it does bear examination.
Throughout the 2018/19 season, Diop made 33 Premier League appearances following a reported £22m move from Toulouse.
Per WhoScored, he made 2.1 tackles per game, on average, 1.9 interceptions and made 4.7 clearances. He conceded just 0.5 fouls and made 1.1 blocks. With an average pass number of 34.4 per game, he boasts a completion rate of 86%.
This is a player, then, who took to the Premier League like a duck to water.
Compared with Phil Jones – who was named by one source as a potential part-exchange option in a deal – Diop’s stats look all the more outstanding. The former Blackburn Rovers man makes, on average, 1.1 tackles per game, 1.3 interceptions and 3.4 clearances. He concedes 0.4 fouls and makes just 0.6 blocks. In every single area, bar the negligible tackling stat, Diop is the better player.
Chris Smalling doesn’t fare much better. His tackles are markedly worse (1.3 to 2.1), along with his interceptions (1.1 to 1.9) and his clearances (4.4 to 4.7). He makes one block per game and commits 0.9 fouls.
Eric Bailly, the Ivorian who is perhaps the closest to Diop in terms of profile, makes fewer tackles (1.3), interceptions (1.1) and clearances (3.1). He concedes 0.4 fouls and makes 0.2 blocks.
Even Victor Lindelof, perhaps United’s best defender, is worse off. In every single defensive stat mentioned, he is inferior to Diop.
Now, it must be said that every United player has a better pass completion rate – Jones’ is 92.6%, Lindelof’s 89.2%, Bailly’s 87.1% and Smalling’s 86.2%. But it is in the actual defending where Diop thrives, and that is where United need help.
Of course, defensive statistics depend on how much defending you’re actually forced to do, but in the 2018/19 season, United conceded 54 Premier League goals. That’s considerably more than both Manchester City and Liverpool, who conceded 45 goals between them, and is also significantly higher than Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, who both shipped 39. Arsenal conceded 51, but Wolves, Everton, Leicester City, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United all let in fewer goals than the Red Devils. Even the Hammers themselves, during a season in which they welcomed an entirely new way of playing and a much revised heart of defence, allowed in just one more Premier League strike.
It is perhaps why United are being so aggressive in their pursuit of Diop, a player who could easily improve their backline based on the statistics while offering the upside needed to be a saleable asset if a move doesn’t work out.
West Ham, of course, are in a rather tricky position here. They could easily cash in on a player who has seen his value more than treble within a season and turn a major profit but he would be difficult to replace and he has formed a solid partnership with Fabian Balbuena, another summer signing.
The other option is they keep him and bank on him repeating his performances of this season in 2019/20.
If he does that, the £75m price-tag will be justified and it will likely not just be United looking to snaffle him away. After all, how many young players performing well in the Premier League don’t come to the attention of the division’s top clubs?
Mourinho was right, then; United missed a major trick by not scouting him and by allowing him to move to east London. Had he been at Old Trafford last season, perhaps their defence wouldn’t have been quite so obviously porous.
The problem, of course, is whether at this moment in time, one season of promising performances can justify matching the world-record fee for a centre-half.