Manchester United make indecent proposal to West Ham for Issa Diop | OneFootball

If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Manchester United are determined to sign a new central defender this summer and according to various reports, they’ve set their sights on West Ham’s Issa Diop.

On Tuesday, various outlets carried a story which claimed the Hammers had made a rather audacious attempt to take Anthony Martial plus cash in exchange for Diop.

Perhaps understandably, United said no, but according to The Sun, the Old Trafford outfit did then return with a counter offer.

“You can’t have Martial, but how does £45m plus Phil Jones sound?” United chief Ed Woodward is reported to have said.

Which is a bit like saying “We’re afraid caviar is off the menu today, but can we interest you in some Rice Krispies?”

Perhaps understandably, West Ham said no, and negotiations have reached an impasse.

Diop only moved to the London Stadium from Toulouse last summer in a deal worth around £20m but The Mirror claim the Hammers have no intention of selling the 22-year-old for a penny less than £75m.

And this turn of events also leaves Jones’s Old Trafford future in the balance.

The England defender has been at the club since 2011 and only signed a new contract earlier this year.

But it seems Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has now deemed the 27-year-old surplus to requirements, and it will be interesting to see if they are able to offload him before the start of the new season.