West Ham United are open to letting defender Issa Diop leave the club this summer, The Evening Standard's Malik Ouzia reports. 

The lowdown

West Ham shelled out £22.5million to sign Diop from Toulouse back in 2018. That makes him the sixth-most expensive signing in the club's history, and their second-most expensive defensive arrival behind £31.5million man Kurt Zouma.

Diop has played 121 matches for the club but his involvement in last season's Premier League action was limited.

He only started ten games and, as Ouzia points out, even that was 'largely as a result of injuries to other players'.

Diop, who's still only 25 years old, is now valued at just £10.8million by Transfermarkt, a 66 per cent plummet from an all-time high of £31.5million.

The latest

According to Ouzia, West Ham recognise that this may well be their 'last opportunity to 'command a fee' for Diop as he enters the final year of his deal.

Diop would be able to negotiate pre-contract terms with foreign clubs as soon as January.

While David Moyes is expected to be given 'substantial backing' this summer, he knows that offloading players like Diop will inflate his budget further.

He would like to use the available money 'at least one new centre back' ahead of the 2022/23 season.

The verdict

A somewhat low-key end to Diop's time at West Ham may be in the offing.

This was a player who previously attracted the interest of Manchester United and Liverpool, but has now fallen down the pecking order at the London Stadium.

Team-mate Craig Dawson has dubbed him 'excellent', and former United boss Jose Mourinho has called him a 'monster'.

But if Moyes believes West Ham can fetch a good price for the Frenchman, then it would arguably make sense to sell given his place in the Irons pecking order.

In other news, David Moyes is ready to offload this 2021 signing too.