West Ham have confirmed the signing of France U21 centre-back Issa Diop from Toulouse on a five-year deal.
The French defender joins for a fee of £21.9m, having successfully passed a medical and finalised personal terms on with the club.
Diop flew into London on Monday after a fee was agreed between the clubs last week, and he becomes new boss Manuel Pellegrini’s second signing of the summer after Ryan Fredericks joined from Fulham.
Diop said: “I am very happy to sign for such a historic English club, and I hope to show my best here.
“I am a very ambitious player and West Ham is a very ambitious club, as we’ve seen with the appointment of the new coach. I hope to help the team win lots of games and make the fans happy.”
West Ham’s new director of football Mario Husillos said: “Issa is a player with fantastic potential who has already shown great quality at such a young age.
“It is a measure of his character and maturity that he was named captain of Toulouse at just 20 years of age, having already established himself in their team as a teenager.”
Monaco, Marseille, RB Leipzig and Sevilla were all interested in signing the young defender.
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He made 31 appearances for Toulouse last season, taking his tally to just under 100 for the club, and has played for France at every youth level from U16 to U21.
