West Ham sign French defender Issa Diop for club record fee | OneFootball

West Ham United have completed the signing of centre-back Issa Diop from Toulouse.

The 21-year-old has signed a five-year contract and joins what has been described as an “undisclosed club record fee” thought to be in €25m.

“I am very happy to sign for such a historic, English club, and I hope to show my best here,” Diop told the club’s official website.

“I am a very ambitious player and West Ham is a very ambitious club, as we’ve seen with the appointment of the new coach. I hope to help the team win lots of games and make the fans happy.”

Diop broke into the Toulouse first team at the age of 18 and went on to captain the club, making 95 senior appearances. He has been capped for France at U21 level.

Hammers Director of Football Mario Husillos added: “Issa is a player with fantastic potential who has already shown great quality at such a young age.

“It is a measure of his character and maturity that he was named captain of Toulouse at just 20 years of age, having already established himself in their team as a teenager.

“He has represented France at every youth level up to U21 and we believe that he is now ready to make the next step in his career by moving to the Premier League with West Ham United.

“There were many other big clubs interested in signing Issa and we are delighted that he has chosen to join us. We look forward to hopefully seeing him make a big impact next season.”