Good Job Fabian Balbuena, But it's Time for West Ham to Restore Issa Diop

You might recall in June 2019, West Ham slapped a £75m price tag on Issa Diop.

That gargantuan figure came in the wake of alleged interest from Manchester United and Tottenham, who at the time were looking to strengthen their central defensive options with a marquee signing for the future.

Diop's stock was exceptionally high back then, with a dearth of top centre-back talent around Europe - and indeed the world - limiting the options for English football's top brass.

Fast forward 17 months and Diop's career has not jetted off into the stratosphere as so many had predicted. Instead, interest in his services waned and he's remained at West Ham, in a side that had to fight tooth and nail to remain a Premier League outfit in 2019/20.

One thing you'd be hard pressed to argue, however, is that Diop does not have a future at the top level ahead of him.

Not only is he quick, agile and exceptionally good in the air, he has a mild aura of Rio Ferdinand about him - not because he's at the former England captain's level, far from it, but because he's extremely comfortable and good with the ball at his feet. That, in the modern game, is one of, if not, the most desirable trait in a central defender.

Playing out from the back is the new norm, but truth be told a lot of Premier League defenders are simply not up to consistently displaying excellent close control before pinging off a two-touch pass.

They're also not particularly good at stepping into midfield, and Diop, despite disappearing from the limelight of late, can do that, seemingly at ease - evidenced by his slalom run through Tottenham's midfield and defence in April 2019 (a game the visitors won 1-0, let's not forget).

West Ham's playing style is admittedly very different from the rest of the Premier League. David Moyes' approach is more risk free and no-nonsense, with a number of balls played over the top into the channels rather than cutely into feet. There is times, however, where West Ham do stroke it around on the deck, and the style of play offered up can be very easy on the eye.

Diop has obvious potential, so it begs the question, why is he not starting for West Ham week in and week out? That is a question that only Moyes can provide an accurate answer for, but you'd hazard a pretty educated guess that it's because the Hammers have found a relatively successful formula over the past couple of months; one that was found after Diop took a step back from the side because of COVID-19.

A decent run of results has seen the club pick up three wins, two draws and two defeats from their last seven Premier League games, coming up against some top quality opposition in that time.

At the heart of West Ham's three-man defence, alongside Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell, has been Fabian Balbuena, and not Diop. The Paraguayan has looked solid, dependable and hasn't really put a foot wrong this season. You'd even go as far as to say he's been impressive, putting in one hell of a shift at Anfield and generally looking far more assured in a system flanked by wing-backs.

But continuing to play Balbuena at the expense of Diop is a perfect footballing example of playing it safe. He goes about his defending in simplistic fashion, in a kind of 'getting the job done' way. There's nothing flashy about Balbuena, there's nothing unique about him and, well, there's nothing special about him.

There's also a lack of pace and a good error or two waiting in him; you only need to cast your mind back to Turf Moor last season and his horrible, horrible showing at Burnley to be reminded of that.

He's also not somebody who is going to improve over time, through regularly playing or through coaching. Diop, on the other hand, is just 23 and has huge potential if he's afforded the opportunity to have regular minutes. You feel this is a pivotal stage of his career, not just at West Ham, as stagnation and time spent on the substitutes bench will only hinder his progress.

Put simply, Diop will continue to get better, Balbuena won't. West Ham are playing a system now that helps to hide some of their South American star's frailties, whereas Diop is more than capable of looking good playing in this system, as well as in a flat back four.

Things are going well at the London Stadium, but reticence to change from Moyes and resting on recent results-led laurels are never a recipe for success. Balbuena has done superbly, but there's a need to look towards long-term improvement and the bigger picture - and if you do that, Diop should reclaim his place sooner rather than later.

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