West Ham defender Issa Diop has lifted the lid on reports linking him with a surprise return to France and Ligue 1 with Paris St-Germain in January by insisting he does not know if they are true or not.
The central powerhouse arrived in east London from French top flight side Toulouse in the summer and has become a firm favourite among the London Stadium faithful with his impressive displays at the heart of the defence.
The Daily Mail claimed that Ligue 1 giants PSG were keen on spending £50million to take him back to his home country, but Diop has insisted if there is interest in him, he is not aware of it.
He told the Mirror: “A departure to PSG this winter? Frankly, I do not know at all, I learned the information like you, it was sent to me via social networks.
“If my agent knows? Maybe, you have to see with him (laughs!). I’m very good at West Ham, I enjoy discovering the Premier League every weekend.”
Opinion
Just because Diop does not know where the reported interest has come from does not mean it does not exist – as they say, there is no smoke without a fire. Still, having recently moved to London to compete in the Premier League it would come as a huge shock to see him head back to France just six months later, even if it did mean playing in the Champions League and winning the top tier title. Ligue 1 just does not have the same level of competition or quality as the Premier League does and it is quite clear that Diop is thoroughly enjoying testing himself against England’s elite, rather than coasting through a season and ending up disappointed in Europe. Diop will be in high demand not only from France but all across Europe if he continues to impress as he has done early on in his West Ham career, but Manuel Pellegrini can remain confident that his star defender is not heading anywhere any time soon.