West Ham ask Manchester United for Martial in return for Diop

West Ham will allow Issa Diop to join Manchester United if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side send Anthony Martial in the opposite direction, claims The Independent.

Diop has emerged as a top transfer target for United and the Red Devils have even had a player-plus-cash deal rejected by their Premier League rivals.

United reportedly offered West Ham £45m and were even willing to include one of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones or Marcos Rojo to hand their Premier League rivals with a Diop replacement.

However, West Ham turned down United’s proposal and it is even alleged Manuel Pellegrini’s side would reject an offer of £60m for the highly rated 22-year-old.

United’s interest in Diop dates back to the beginning of last season after the Frenchman turned in a commanding display in West Ham’s 3-1 win over the Red Devils.

Then-United manager Jose Mourinho singled Diop out for praise after the match and even praised West Ham’s scouting team for finding him.

West Ham know that Diop’s value will continue to soar in the coming years, though in initial discussions with United they made it known they would consider a deal if they received Martial in return.

Martial’s career has stagnated since a promising debut campaign for United in 2015 and his attitude and application has frustrated current boss Solskjaer and his predecessor Mourinho.

Mourinho was even willing to sell Martial last summer, while the France international’s form notably tailed off last season after putting pen to paper on a new long-term deal in January.

Despite some reservations over Martial’s temperament, United are not interested in selling the 23-year-old leaving them facing the prospect of missing out on Diop’s signature.

Of players that scored at least 10 goals in the Premier League last season, Martial had the best conversion rate (25.6%), accentuating his statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘finishing’.