The first new face to arrive at West Ham United, presumably funded via the sale of Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham Hotspur, appears to have been revealed; Slavia Prague and Senegal left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf.
After Daniel Cummings arrived from Celtic on July 1st – a 19-year-old striker expected to represent Mark Robson’s Under-21s initially – West Ham United are closing in on their maiden first-team acquisition of the summer window.
Slavia Prague rejected an opening bid of £17 million earlier in the week.
But, as a source close to David Sullivan confirms that El Hadji Malick Diouf is ‘rated highly’ at the London Stadium, latest reports coming out of the Czech Republic indicate that a deal is likely to be agreed for a fee of £21.5 million.
One can only hope that the Senegal international proves to be as successful as the previous two players to leave Slavia Prague for East London, as Diouf prepares to join ‘Agent Soucek’ while following in the footsteps of Vladimir Coufal.
And, if anyone was in any doubt about the extent of the coup the Hammers are about to pull off, reports suggest that Diouf is on his way to the capital despite being the target of approaches from Europe-bound clubs both in Italy and England.
El Hadji Malick Diouf playing for Slavia Prague in the Europa League
Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
West Ham reportedly beat Leeds and Nottingham Forest to El Hadji Malick Diouf
According to iSport, El Hadji Malick Diouf had admirers at Atalanta.
Europa League winners in 2024 and set to play Champions League football in 2025, Atalanta want a new left-back after selling Matteo Ruggeri to Atletico Madrid for £17 million a few days ago.
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iSport add that Nottingham Forest, who finished over 20 points ahead of West Ham in the Premier League table last term, were also in pursuit of Diouf. So too were Crystal Palace, Brighton and Hove Albion, and a Leeds United side who bid farewell to Junior Firpo when his contract expired.
West Ham, to quote the Czech press, ‘will probably win in the end’ as the pursuit of Diouf enters its final stages.
A frustrated fanbase have had to wait until early-July to get a big-money deal close to completion, but all the signs suggest the wait is nearly over.
Diouf got the better of Bukayo Saka when Senegal beat England
The West Ham supporters like what they see from Diouf, too. The swashbuckling southpaw shone as Senegal beat England 3-1 at Nottingham last month. He scored seven goals from left-back in Slavia colours during the 2024/25 season, but his impressive defensive numbers make the 20-year-old a stand-out all-round specimen.
Diouf had Bukayo Saka ‘in hell’ as England lost at home to an African side for the first time in their history. Considering the sheer extent of the misery Saka has wreaked at West Ham in recent times, a defender capable of stopping the Arsenal winger in full flow could come in very handy next term.
“My time to leave [Slavia Prague] is approaching,” Diouf told Idnes as far back as January. “I know it. God will show me the way.”
“He is an exceptional player. I can’t imagine him staying in the Czech league,” agreed Jindrich Trpisovsky, Slavia’s head coach.
“I have to thank him here because he had the opportunity [to leave] in the winter. He had good offers. We asked him to finish the season, and he really postponed his departure to a big club for half a year, which is admirable.
“Malick and his agent behaved fantastically.”