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West Ham confirm Issa Diop signing, beating Everton and Sevilla to £22million deal

AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images

West Ham have confirmed the signing of central defender Issa Diop as manager Manuel Pellegrini continues to strengthen his squad ahead of the new season.

Diop, 21, joins from French side Toulouse on a five-year-deal, with the Hammers having beaten Everton, Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla to the £22million deal.

The initial fee of £22m is a current club record, though the add-ons in the deal which brought Marko Arnautovic to the club would see the Austrian remain as the record signing.

The defender wore the armband for the majority of last season as Toulouse narrowly avoided relegation from Ligue 1, beating Ligue 2 side Ajaccio in a play-off to stay in the division.

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“I am very happy to sign for such a historic, English club, and I hope to show my best here,” Diop said.

“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.”

West Ham's newly appointed director of football, Mario Husillos said: “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.

“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."

Pellegrini, who is currently in Spain and is expected to return to east London later this month, has begun quickly in the transfer market, with his first addition being Fulham right-back Ryan Fredericks, who joined on a free having earned promotion with the Cottagers last season, with Swansea's Lukas Fabianski expected to be announced within the next 24 hours.

The Chilean has been handed £75m to spend this summer, though a portion of that budget will be funded by player sales.

Those who could be on their way out this summer will have a chance to impress the new manager when they return to pre-season training on July 2, before Pellegrini makes a decision on who says and who goes.