Fulham pushing to sign Issa Diop from West Ham

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Fulham pushing to sign Issa Diop from West Ham

Fulham are attempting to beat Lyon to the signing of West Ham United defender Issa Diop, 90min can confirm.

The 25-year-old is one of five senior centre-backs on the books at London Stadium, a figure boosted this summer by the arrival of Nayef Aguerd from Rennes in a deal worth €30m.

90min revealed at the end of June that West Ham are open to allowing Diop to leave the club, in search of more regular first-team football, and there's been strong interest from Ligue 1 giants Lyon.

However, Premier League new boys Fulham - who won the Championship title last season - are making moves to strengthen their squad, and 90min understands that they are now locked in talks with West Ham over a permanent transfer.

It's believed Fulham are willing to pay around £15m for Diop, who joined West Ham from Toulouse four years ago, although that figure - which exceeds what Lyon had put forward - may fall slightly short of the Hammers' valuation.

Nevertheless, there's an expectation that Diop will be heading on to pastures new this summer, with David Moyes instead seeing Aguerd, Kurt Zouma, Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna as his preferred options.

Diop has featured in just 31 Premier League games over the past two seasons, a significant reduction in the number of minutes the Frenchman earned under Moyes' predecessor Manuel Pellegrini.

Should a move to Craven Cottage materialise, Diop could join up with Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira, who is undergoing a medical before completing a permanent move. Fulham have already signed Joao Palhinha from Sporting CP and Kristian Sekularac from Juventus this summer, with a loan move for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Manor Solomon also close.