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Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham United will come up against a very familiar face when they kick off away to Marco Silva’s Fulham on Wednesday night at Craven Cottage.
While Axel Disasi and Konstantinos Mavropanos held clear-the-air talks with goalkeeper Mads Hermansen following the Hammers’ 5-2 defeat at Liverpool – comfortably their worst defensive performance since January 3rd in Wolverhampton – Issa Diop was basking in the glow of a London derby victory.
The watching West Ham United supporters would have cheered as loudly as anyone in the home end at Craven Cottage when Diop extended one of his telescopic limbs to block an early Randal Kolo Muani shot on Sunday.
West Ham face a familiar face at Fulham…
Diop was exceptional as Fulham, winning 2-1 in a scoreline which flattered their visitors, pushed Tottenham closer to the abyss.
With Igor Tudor hosting a resurgent Crystal Palace on Thursday, West Ham can move to within one point of Spurs if they beat the Cottagers tomorrow.
That, though, will be easier said than done. And not just because Diop, in for the ill Joachim Andersen, appears destined to give Taty Castellanos a bit of a rough ride.
Issa Diop was outstanding when Fulham beat Tottenham – and now he faces West Ham Unied
Not so long ago, it appeared that West Ham had struck gold selling Issa Diop to Fulham for a fee of £15 million. Across the last two full seasons, the former Toulouse captain has started fewer than half of the Cottagers’ Premier League matches.
And on the occasions where he did get a run in the side, high-profile blunders were never too far away.
The difference between ‘good Diop’ and ‘bad Diop’ has always been pretty cavernous. It just so happens, though, that West Ham appear likely to run into the former this midweek.
Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images
“I don’t like to go for individual things, but it’s important to mention Issa Diop,” Marco Silva said after Fulham restricted Spurs to a series of half-chances and a Richarlison consolation. “He knows he was not supposed to start the game. He was at home last night. He was not even at the hotel with us.
“He’s a good professional.
“It was our decision to start with him [due to Andersen’s illness], and what a performance from him. Leadership, the focus and the commitment he had in every moment to lead our backline, was crucial from himself. And I have to really to congratulate him for the performance.
“I’m very pleased, because he deserves all the credit. Sometimes not always involved in all the moments, [but] every time we need him and to use him, he responds very well.
“And always, I know that, if he plays or not, he’s going to be the first one to arrive at the training ground. He’s going to be the first one to push the others to go, always a top professional, very important for ourselves.”
Taty Castellanos faces Diop four years after David Moyes sold him
David Moyes wanted to keep Diop at West Ham before his departure in the summer of 2022. However, with Nayef Aguerd arriving from Rennes, Moyes accepted that the big Frenchman could not be guaranteed regular starts in claret and blue.
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Considering that Diop has started only 57 of a possible 142 Premier League matches in a Fulham shirt, you can argue that his decision to leave in search of more consistent game time has backfired somewhat.
Diop celebrated his 29th birthday in January. And, at this point, Fulham fans are more than accustomed to the odd faultless performance in a sea of inconsistency.
Wouldn’t it just be West Ham’s luck, though, if Diop follows up a supreme display against Spurs with another against his old employers? With Man City and Aston Villa to come, Fulham away is both a daunting test but also one of the more winnable matches in Nuno’s schedule.
Just days after shutting down Kolo Muani at the Cottage, a repeat performance will see Diop give Tottenham an almighty leg-up. West Ham, in a worst-case scenario, could go into the weekend seven points adrift of their bitter rivals.
In a best-case scenario, only one point will separate the two neighbours.
“How this man does not play more football for us I don’t understand,” fan site Fulhamish wrote after what was arguably Diop’s finest display in that white kit.
“The Frenchman was absolutely brilliant in the first half, making some wonderful tackles, particularly the one on Randall Kolo Muani that he timed to perfection. He was only deputising because Joachim Andersen was ill, but you do wonder what else he needs to do to deserve a starting run.”
Speaking of a certain Argentine forward who is likely to go head-to-head with Diop tomorrow, Taty Castellanos has come in for criticism on the back of his performance at Anfield, even if he did nod in a second-half consolation.
As popular as he is for his infectious work ethic, the West Ham fans want to see more from their £27 million January signing. A winner at the Cottage would fit the bill nicely.
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