West Ham’s Issa Diop could become one of the Premier League’s top defenders

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West Ham United have done some fantastic business signing Issa Diop for £22 million.

The French centre-half took a few weeks to adjust to life at his new club.

But over the past few weeks, he has started to show why the Hammers paid what they paid.

Jose Mourinho said it best during his post-match interview after the youngster stood out against Manchester United: “Congratulations to the scout that found the 21-year-old kid Diop. A monster.”

Diop was excellent at the back alongside Fabian Balbuena, and appears to be getting more and more comfortable as the season progresses.

If he continues to improve in the way he is, then he could well become on the Premier League’s most fearsome defenders.

Have the Premier League big boys slept on a gem?

Diop’s last two performances in the league against Chelsea and Manchester United were excellent.

Arguably, had he turned out in blue or red and played in the same way, he would not have looked out of place.

His potential and form of late do beg the question: have the Premier League’s top clubs missed out on a rough diamond?

Mourinho made it sound like Diop was plucked from total obscurity, when in actual fact the defender had played 77 games in a European top five league.

Ligue 1 is surely a division that is heavily scouted by the English top six.

It is a surprise that West Ham were relatively unchallenged when it came to signing Diop.

He looks, as Mourinho said, like a monster. A physically imposing centre-half, who is calm on the ball but aggressive in the tackle.

He looks tailor-made for the English top flight. Perhaps next summer the Tottenham Hotspurs and the Chelseas will come calling, tails between their legs.