Bad news for Tosin Adarabioyo as Fulham agrees £17m deal for similar West Ham defender

West Ham United have reportedly accepted Fulham’s £17million bid to sign French centre-back Issa Diop this summer.

According to multiple reports, both London-based Premier League teams have reached an agreement for Diop as newly-promoted Fulham aim to bolster their squad and avoid relegation.

Issa Diop’s signing will give Fulham much-needed squad depth but it could mean a reduction in game time for Nigeria-eligible defender Tosin Adarabioyo who currently plays as right centre-back for Fulham.

Issa Diop didn’t play West Ham’s season-opening 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester City on Sunday despite the club having a shortage in central defenders.

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It was the first real indication that the Frenchman is on the way out of West Ham, and head coach David Moyes had this to say about it, "No, Issa Diop is not injured at the minute.” 

“Issa Diop didn’t put himself forward to play in the last couple of games and we will see what happens with that in the next couple of weeks," Moyes said after the game on Sunday.

Issa Diop is a 25-year-old central defender, just over 6 foot, 3 inches tall and prefers to play on the right side of a double centre-back pairing.

Tosin Adarabioyo currently plays that role for Fulham as he did in Fulham’s 2-2 draw against Liverpool.

The 24-year-old English-Nigerian is also similarly built to Diop, standing at 6 feet 4 inches tall which is a similar profile to Fulham’s incoming £17 million signing.

There is a possibility Fulham boss Marco Silva intends to play them both together but that would mean either one of Diop and Adarbioyo would have to compromise on their preferred centre-back role.