West Ham defender Issa Diop proved his quality against Harry Kane

Add as preferred source on Google

West Ham did slip to a 1-0 home defeat against London rivals Tottenham on Saturday, but there were still a number of positives to take away from the match itself.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side are still searching for consistency as a team, but summer signing Issa Diop is proving he is a crucial part of the set-up.

Drop completed a £22million (BBC) move to the London Stadium before the beginning of the season and most supporters will not have heard of the defender.

The 21-year-old has in the space of a few months managed to become a permanent feature in the starting XI and is building a great partnership alongside Fabian Balbuena in the heart of defence.

He sent out a huge message with a colossal display against Spurs at the weekend and was unfortunate to end up on the losing side.

Diop is a no-nonsense centre-back that showed no fear and managed to keep a tight hold of world-class centre-forward Harry Kane.

The youngster is mixing it with some of the world’s best talents and he came out of the individual battle on the winning side against Kane.

The French defender has a perfect blend of power and pace, which could see him reach an extremely high level if he continues progressing.

West Ham’s £22million deal for Diop is now looking like some incredible business and his value will surely rocket if he continues having a storming season at the club.