isstoric fee
West Ham confirm Issa Diop has signed from Toulouse in a club-record deal
French defender has agreed a five-year contract with the Hammers who have backed new boss Manuel Pellegrini in the market
WEST HAM have signed Issa Diop from Toulouse in a club-record deal.
The French defender, 21, has been playing first-team football since he was 19 - racking up 85 games for the League 1 outfit.
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And Manuel Pellegrini has been tempted to top the £24million spent on Marko Arnautovic last season.
Diop said: “I am very happy to sign for such a historic, English club, and I hope to show my best here.
“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.”
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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 Under-21 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."
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