Liverpool have reportedly made an enquiry about the possibility of signing Issa Diop from West Ham United late in the January transfer window.
According to The Athletic, Liverpool have made an approach to West Ham United for the potential signing of out-of-favour defender Issa Diop as the January transfer window deadline looms.
The 24-year-old Frenchman has been with the Hammers since 2018, having arrived from boyhood club, Toulouse. Over the past couple of the seasons, Diop had been a regular fixture at the heart of the West Ham defence but that has changed in the ongoing campaign.
Diop has fallen down the pecking order under David Moyes as he finds himself behind the likes of Fabian Balbuena, Angelo Ogbonna and on-loan defender Craig Dawson. This has resulted in him making just five appearances across all competitions so far in the 2020/21 campaign.
And, Liverpool are hoping to capitalise on his situation by launching a move to sign him on loan for the rest of the campaign. The Reds are going through a bit of an injury crisis in the centre-back department with three of their frontline defenders in Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip currently sidelined.
Fabinho, who has had to step up as a makeshift defender this term, has also been hit with an injury recently, leaving Jurgen Klopp with youngsters Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips as the primary centre-back options alongside another makeshift defender in captain Jordan Henderson.
Given that they are already chasing the Manchester clubs in the race for the title, addressing this problem becomes imperative if they are win silverware at the end of the season. And, this has forced them into the transfer market late into the January window.
USMNT international Aaron Long has emerged as an option, but the Merseyside giants are also looking at West Ham’s Diop as a potential option. To that end, they have made an enquiry to the Hammers over the possibility of a transfer late in the window.
However, as per the report, the east London giants will be reluctant to sanction a loan move, especially given how close the two clubs are in the table unless the deal included an option to make the transfer permanent at the end of the season. In such a case, Diop would command a transfer fee in excess of £20 million.
With less than two days left for the transfer window to slam shut, it will be interesting to see if Liverpool are able to bring in a new defender or soldier on with their current pack for the rest of the campaign.
