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West Ham United broke their transfer record to sign Issa Diop from Toulouse during the summer, and the centre-back has impressed in his first few months in England.

The Chalkboard

West Ham are believed to have paid the best part of £22m to sign Diop from Toulouse.

The France Under-21 international came through the youth system at Toulouse, and made 85 appearances for the French outfit over the course of three seasons.

Standing at 6ft 4in, Diop certainly has the frame required to be a real presence on the football pitch, but he has also shown his ball-playing skills since arriving in London.

It was somewhat of a risk for West Ham to pay upwards of £22m for a young player with no experience of English football, but that looks excellent business thus far.

It might not be too long before Diop breaks into the senior France squad, but for now he will be focused on helping West Ham extend their three-game unbeaten Premier League run.

The numbers behind Diop's strong start

Diop has on the bench for West Ham's first two Premier League matches of the season against Liverpool and Bournemouth, but has not missed a single minute of league action since.

Indeed, the 21-year-old has quickly become the club's starting centre-back, and his performance against Manchester United earlier this season led to praise from Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho.

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In 10 Premier League appearances, Diop has picked up just one yellow card, while a pass success rate of 88.5% (WhoScored) for a central defender at West Ham is absolutely excellent when considering all of the circumstances.

The continuity and consistency that Diop has shown for a new player in the Premier League has been so impressive, and the Hammers will find it difficult to keep him a long-term basis if he continues on this track.