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West Ham United defender Issa Diop has struggled to make a positive impact at the London Stadium since his £22m move from Toulouse in 2018, a fee that, at the time, was a club record for the East London outfit.

Almost four years on from joining the Hammers, the French centre-back has struggled to win over supporters.

Recently, the 25-year-old received plenty of criticism for his display against National League North side Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup, with the Premier League defender struggling against a sixth-tier outfit.

However, the main measurement of Diop’s struggles at the London Stadium can be identified by his market value, which has steadily declined since swapping Ligue 1 for the English top flight.

In fairness to the defender, his first season was tolerable as the Frenchman made 33 Premier League appearances as the Hammers finished tenth. As a result, Diop saw his market value increase from £19.8m to £31.5m, according to Transfermarkt.

Unfortunately for West Ham, this appreciation in value was a false hope and the £61k-per-week defender’s time in the English capital has been a nightmare.

Over the past three years, the 25-year-old has seen his market value drop staggeringly from £31.5m to £10.8m, now worth three times less than three years ago.

It also means that the defender is worth less than half of what the East London outfit bought him for.

The centre-back has made 118 appearances thus far for the Hammers, with this season seeing manager David Moyes call upon him mainly in cup competitions, playing 12 times across the Europa League, EFL Cup and FA Cup as well as 11 Premier League matches.

There is no doubt that the 25-year-old is at the bottom of the West Ham’s defensive hierarchy below Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson, with Angelo Ogbonna still recovering from an ACL injury that has kept the Hammers light at the back.

With just one year left on his contract after this season, Diop will certainly be considering his future and whether or not he could revive his tenure at the London Stadium.

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If the Hammers are to re-qualify for Europe for next season, there may be the occasional opportunity for the defender as West Ham juggle four competitions once again. However, after a disappointing January transfer window, it appears likely that the East Londoners will invest somewhat heavily in the squad this summer.

Therefore, it appears as though Diop’s days in claret and blue could be numbered as we enter the final two months of the 2021/22 campaign.

In other news: West Ham must swoop for £75k-p/w monster who Moyes will love, he’s “the new Vidic”

So far this season there have been 438 goals in the Premier League, and we’re not even half way through. If this scoring trend were to continue throughout the season then that would leave us with around 1,100 goals, which would be a new record. In fact the defensive side to our teams just seems to be having a bit of a shocker all round really. Last year’s fad was snoods, this year it’s to have a leaky defence. And this fashion isn’t confined to the lower teams either. When was the last time you saw Arsenal concede eight in one game, or Man Utd concede six or Chelsea concede five at home? What is it about our league that has suddenly invited upon itself the desire to attack without inhibition and allow our defences to bear the brunt of the consequences? Is it lesser players, or a change in tactics, new strikers in the league or are the referees playing their part too?

Tactics

Obviously tactics play a part; in particular Andre Villas-Boas and Arsene Wenger are guilty of ignoring the defensive side to their jobs. Admittedly both have improved recently but Andre Santos’ admission that he had never spoken to Wenger about his defending is a worrying indictment of the way Arsenal football club is managed. Sure, Pat Rice handles the defensive side to the team but it would be reassuring for Arsenal fans to at least know that Wenger was playing some role in the defensive coaching of his side. To be fair to Wenger his side’s defensive performances this year are much better than last year and with the return of Thomas Vermaelen they look far more sturdy. Similarly with Villas-Boas despite his defensive struggles as he adapts to life in the Premier League the last two games have proved that his side are making progress.

However whilst there is some debate as to whether the top English clubs are not as good as they once were, the other argument is that the lower teams have got better. What this means is that firstly any team feels like they can beat any other, which lends itself to more attacking play and therefore more goals scored and conceded. It also means that because life at the bottom of the table is so tight a points total of around 40 come the end of the season may no longer be enough to keep your side up. This means that the lower teams have to take more risks against the bigger clubs in order to stay ahead of their rivals.

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New players

One of the factors that are definitely playing a part is the influx of foreign money in to our league. If you think that in the last couple of years Man City alone have brought Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli, David Silva and Edin Dzeko. When players like these come to your league they are obviously going to score goals, and plenty of them too. Whereas in the past teams playing Man City had to worry about Samaras they now have to worry about Aguero. It makes sense that we would see more goals, even if Wenger is doing his best to keep the goal tally down by buying players like Chamakh and Park.

Referees

However the factor that surely has the largest impact upon our ever more permeable defences is the crackdown on strong tackles by referees. Everything is a foul these days. Take the Blackburn vs. Sunderland game on Sunday for example. Scott Dann’s header was ruled out because Sunderland goalkeeper Westwood came for the ball and missed it. Despite there being nothing wrong with Dann’s goal it was ruled out and that is typical of our referees’ attitudes towards both the defence of goalkeepers and the punishment of defenders in modern football. Clearly the more stringent approach from officials was introduced with the best of intentions but the way it has affected the game has gone too far. Yes, tackles were perhaps too vicious twenty-five years ago but today we have fallen victim to the type of play-acting that would make the Royal Shakespeare Company proud. What’s the point of having tall physical defenders if they can’t use their physical presence to the full advantage? What’s the point of having the courage to attempt a last ditch tackle, as Rio Ferdinand did against Newcastle, if you’re only going to get penalised for it even if you win the ball. The consequence of this culture in today’s football is that the defenders are at a natural disadvantage, and it shows. Defenders, like all players, need to have confidence in their ability and their actions in order to perform effectively; but how can they have confidence when the line between an acceptable tackle and a dangerous one is blurry even for the referees?

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Real Madrid midfielder Esteban Granero believes his side should not focus solely on its upcoming fixtures with bitter rivals Barcelona.Real will meet the Catalans in La Liga on April 17 before facing Pep Guardiola’s side again just three days later in the Copa Del Rey final.

However, Granero has stressed the importance of concentrating on one game at a time, with several important fixtures, including their Champions League quarter-final against Tottenham, ahead in the preceding weeks.

“The circumstances of the calendar has made us face them twice already. We have the obligation to beat them twice now. The two meetings will be key to two important titles for us,” Grenero said.

“However it isn’t yet time to talk about Barcelona, because the games are still a while away, and there are other games beforehand which are almost as important.”

“We have to play to win, like always, and it could be an important time for us to turn the situation around.”

“We aren’t thinking about four games, because we have a Champions League tie beforehand and so do they. We are just thinking about the two immediate games.”

Grenero, who has been a peripheral figure from the bench under Real boss Jose Mourinho this season, claimed he was content his role in the team.

“The manager decides. I bring my game, I work hard and I am ready to play to the Real Madrid standard when called upon. I don’t have to ask anything,” he said.

“I just have to work and remain ready at the club. It is they who pay me, and they picked me eight years ago. The manager chooses the team, and normally he chooses well. So I have no complaints.”

And he is adamant Jose Mourinho will not be headed for a return to the Premier League at the end of the season despite the Portuguese’s publicly-stated desire to one day return to England as a club manager.

“I am convinced that he will be here next year, and for many years after that, because he will have a lot of success,” Granero said.

“We will go out to win in any case. We have to fight to have the best conditions, as does our manager.”

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has spoken of his devastation at losing goalkeeper Craig Gordon to a broken arm for the second time.

The Scotland international will miss the start of the new campaign after suffering a fresh break to the same arm he injured in a Premier League game in December last year which kept him sidelined for two months.

Gordon's latest setback came during a session at the club's pre-season training camp in Portugal.

"It was devastating – a complete freak accident," Bruce told the club's official website.

"It happened just when we had Craig at the top of his game and he will be a big miss for us.

"It's a big blow, but we will have to get over it. Every club has its knocks over the season.

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"Craig needs a bit of luck and we wish him well."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Tottenham have suffered their first European defeat of the season at the hands of Rubin Kazan, with the Eastern European outfit recording a 1-0 win over the English side at the Central’nyj Stadion on Thursday night.

The White Hart Lane team fielded a side of mostly young and fringe players, with the only senior men included being William Gallas, Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Sebastian Bassong.

Steven Pienaar also made a return from a groin injury, and played the full 90 minutes of the Europa League tie.

Things went into the interval all square, but a Bibras Natcho free-kick on 56 minutes sealed the victory for the home team.

The defeat sees Harry Redknapp’s men drop from first in Group A to third, with a home game against PAOK and a trip to Ireland to face Shamrock Rovers still to play.

Assistant manager Kevin Bond took charge of the side in Redknapp’s absence, and despite the loss is still upbeat about Spurs’ chances of qualifying for the knockout stages.

“We were under no illusion how good a side they were,” Bond told BBC Sport.

“It’s going to be tight right until the end, but with the games we have got left it’s still in our hands to qualify and we feel confident we will do,” he concluded.

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Spurs now take on Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday and will welcome back their big name players. The North London outfit will be aiming to make it seven wins from eight league games, as their search for a top four finish continues.

By Gareth McKnight

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Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti insists he will see out his contract with the London club as speculation intensifies over his future.The 51-year-old’s deal expires at the end of next season and despite reports he could return to Serie A – where he has previously been in charge of AC Milan, Juventus and Parma – he is adamant he will remain at Stamford Bridge.Speculation has linked Ancelotti with a return to Roma, where he made 171 appearances as a player, after the recent departure of Claudio Ranieri – a former Chelsea boss himself.But Ancelotti said such a move is not on the horizon.”I’m very well in London, I have another year of contract and I intend to stay here,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Here you can breathe. In Italy, if a team goes bad, the fans are waiting outside the stadium and insult you. I could not stand it.””Training Roma has always been my desire, which I have expressed several times, but it doesn’t mean that it should be realised tomorrow.”The Italian is in a bullish mood despite Chelsea’s league woes.The reigning champions are in fifth place on the table and 15 points behind leaders Manchester United, who they host on Tuesday. But with his side already having one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals, Ancelotti still has his heart set on silverware.”The season is not yet over. Of course, our journey so far has not been satisfactory,” he said. “The objective is to reach the top four in the Premier League and then there’s the Champions League.””My team, after two negative months, is recovering. I really think will be a nice spring for us.”

Internazionale striker Mario Balotelli has welcomed reports linking him with a summer switch to either Manchester City or Premier League rivals United.

Balotelli has spoken out after City boss Roberto Mancini declared an interest in signing him earlier in the week.

Mancini worked with the now 20-year-old striker during his time as Inter coach.

However, Balotelli has also reacted warmly to suggestions that United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is also an admirer of his talents.

“Roberto Mancini? He’s a great coach, I debuted in Serie A with him because he is a great friend,” he told Corriere dello Sport.

“If he and Ferguson want me, it means I’m not as bad as I thought.

“United is a great club. They have not seen the real Balotelli, for sure I need to learn and achieve more goals. I want to win the Golden Ball in 2011.

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“As for the future, I always say I don’t know.”

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Eden Hazard’s agent has stated that his client may look for a move next summer, with the Arsenal and Liverpool target quickly becoming a big fish in a small pond at Lille.

The Belgium international playmaker helped Rudy Garcia’s side to the Ligue 1 championship last season, and has been linked with a transfer to clubs in England, Spain and Italy.

With an impressive start to the season under his belt already, speculation of a move has been started again by his agent.

“He has shown from the beginning of the season that he is able to play for any of the big clubs, including Real Madrid,” representative John Bico told Mirror Football.

“Eden has matured in every aspect. Perhaps next summer will be the moment to leave in search of the biggest challenge.

“Arsene Wenger wanted the player but Lille said no to the sale last summer. It’s certain that Real Madrid have been watching.

“I don’t think [Zinedine] Zidane’s presence will necessarily decide things. Zidane has always praised him but that, on its own, will not be sufficient,” he concluded.

The creative midfielder is sure to be much vaunted again come January, and Arsenal could use his vision to fill the void left by Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Espanyol chief Joan Collet has warned English Premier League club West Ham of the dangers of moving to a stadium with an athletics track.

The London club is in prime position to be handed the keys to London’s Olympic Stadium post 2012 ahead of Premier League rivals Tottenham after receiving the backing of the Olympic Park Legacy Committee.

The main point of difference between the two bids is West Ham’s intention to maintain the athletics track at the stadium, with Spurs to develop the site as a purpose-built football arena.

Collet’s club inherited the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona following the 1992 Olympic Games and played there for 13 years before moving to their purpose-built Estadi Cornella-El Prat home.

The Espanyol chief executive officer said his club suffered at the Olympic venue due to a lack of atmosphere in La Liga clashes.

“We felt comfortable playing at the Olympic Stadium because we considered it as home but the football environment was nothing like our current pitch,” Collet said.

“There was an athletics track, the environment was much colder. The distance between the players and spectators was a lot bigger. As I have had the luck to speak to players about this, I can tell you that they said they felt a little lonely when playing in that stadium.”

“The atmosphere had to be really vibrant in order for it to be enough to reach the centre of the pitch and for the players to notice it.”

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“Unlike that situation, in our new stadium there is an immediate great atmosphere. You can feel football, people are close to players, people are close to the pitch and for us has been really positive. I can only wish that it will be the same for West Ham.”

West Ham are in line to inherit the stadium shortly after the London Games end in August 2012.

England set up a crunch match with Germany in the last 16 on Sunday after Fabio Capello’s men registered their first win of the 2010 World Cup. Capello has been fairly rigid in his selection policy and stuck to his preferred 4-4-2 formation, but did bring in Jermain Defoe and James Milner who combined for the only goal. There was huge clamour from the media and England fans before the match to bring in Joe Cole, but the soon to be ex-Chelsea man didn’t make the starting line-up and was given just twenty minutes to show his worth. Manchester United’s Michael Carrick hasn’t made it anywhere near the first eleven and has practiced his bench warming duties out in South Africa. Obviously not at the forefront of Fabio’s plans, Cole and Carrick had a catch up on the bench, but what did they discuss, maybe Joe’s next club?

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