West Ham United defender Issa Diop has admitted that he grew up idolising the likes of Lillian Thuram and Marcel Desailly during his formative years as a youngster in Toulouse.
Diop, who joined the Hammers from Toulouse during the summer transfer window, has quickly established himself as a regular in the starting eleven in recent weeks.
The Frenchman has already made nine appearances across all competitions for Manuel Pellegrini’s side and caught the eye during two of West Ham’s most impressive performances this season, against Chelsea and Manchester United.
The 21-year-old, who came up through the ranks at Toulouse, registered 85 appearances in Ligue 1 since making his debut in 2015 before making the switch to east London.
Diop admitted that he grew up trying to emulate the likes of Thuram and Desailly, who helped France achieve success at the 1998 World Cup and European Championship in 2000, during his formative years as a defender.
“I have never been someone who modelled his game on one player in particular or had favourite players”, Diop told the club’s official website.
“But it is true that France has always been a country which has had fantastic defenders such as Marcel Desailly and Lilian Thuram, who have been role models for many young players.
“I have huge respect what they did by winning the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000, because those were victories that changed what young players felt they could achieve in France.
“If I could achieve just a third of what they achieved during the careers that they had, that would be fantastic”, he added.
Diop is yet to make his senior debut for France and will be aiming to work towards achieving it in the next few years.
