West Ham are edging closer to a deal for Senegal defender El Hadji Malick Diouf, with the Slavia Prague player spotted boarding a private jet to London ahead of his medical.
Talks between West Ham and Slavia Prague have stalled during the transfer window as the Hammers were reportedly unwilling to meet Diouf’s £21.5million release clause.
Is El Hadji Malick Diouf signing for West Ham?
It seems that after a long negotiation process West Ham will finally get their man, as El Hadji Malick Diouf was spotted on board a private jet headed for London on Monday morning.
El Hadji Malick Diouf is on his way to London to complete his medical ✈️⚒️ pic.twitter.com/DaMIYhiWtK
— COYIrons (@COYIronscom) July 14, 2025
West Ham fans have been waiting for the centre back to complete a move for some time now and it seems that the club has finally agreed on a fee, with the team agreeing to pay the full release clause.
There is no doubt that Diouf is keen on a move to the Premier League and Slavia Prague were happy to let him go this summer.
It has been reported that the defender was kept away from preseason training after initial interest from the Hammers two weeks ago, as to make sure he didn’t pick up a knock ahead of the deal.
❤️️🩹 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭
It was a pleasure, Malick 🫶 pic.twitter.com/KzrH3t62lV
— SK Slavia Praha (@slaviaofficial) July 13, 2025
Although Diouf is predominantly a defender, the 20-year-old was used as a winger at times last year and his versatility could prove to be invaluable to Graham Potter.
The Senegal international played a total of 41 games for Slavia Prague last season, scoring seven goals in a breakout campaign.
West Ham summer transfers
Diouf’s transfer comes just days after one of West Ham’s best players departed the club with Mohamed Kudus making the switch across London to Tottenham.
While the Hammers have identified some of Europe’s top stars as a replacement for Kudus, Diouf could provide some much needed depth in the wide areas.
While more signings are expected to come from the £55million Kudus deal, keeping some of their key players could be more important to West Ham.
As reported by Sportscasting earlier this week, Lucas Paqueta could remain in London this summer with his betting charges expected to be cleared.
The Hammers still have plenty of time to improve their squad ahead of the new season and Graham Potter will have a busy couple of months with plenty of players at risk of leaving.
Aaron Cresswell was spotted posing for photos in a Stoke City kit earlier this week and his move to the Championship was confirmed over the weekend.
