West Ham United defender Issa Diop joined Fulham during the summer transfer window.
Apparently, the centre-back wanted more playing time and therefore he decided to leave the Hammers.
West Ham manager David Moyes has now revealed that the club did not want to sell the former Toulouse defender, but they had to let him go because of his desire to play regularly.
Moyes said to Football London: “We liked Issa [Diop] a lot, we would have liked Issa to stay. At that time, we were having difficulties with centre-halves. We liked Issa a lot, but his choice was he wanted to go and play more, and in the end we granted it. It was a difficult one for us, because we were really short of defenders at that moment.”
The Hammers have had their fair share of injury issues in the defensive department and keeping Diop would have been a wise move.
That said, things are not going according to the plan for the former West Ham defender. He has struggled to hold down a regular starting berth at Fulham and has started just three league games for the Cottagers.
It remains to be seen whether he can force his way into the starting lineup and establish himself as a key player for Fulham.
Diop’s talent is beyond doubt but he was largely inconsistent during his time at West Ham and he will have to get over those issues if he wants to establish himself as an indispensable asset for his new club.
The 25-year-old has signed a long-term contract with Fulham and he will have plenty of opportunities to showcase his qualities and iron out his flaws with time.