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West Ham United has secured the signing of El Hadji Malick Diouf from Czech champions Slavia Prague. The attacking left-back, who joined Prague in January 2024 for €2.7 million, is now moving to East London for nearly ten times that figure. Diouf becomes the third player to transfer between Slavia and West Ham in the past six years, following in the footsteps of Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal.

Diouf has drawn interest from foreign clubs for quite a while. Crystal Palace made a bid for him during the winter, but they were unable to come to an agreement with Slavia.

Moreover, the interest in the young defender only grew; in fact, Premier League clubs became even more interested following Senegal's3-1 victory over England in June, where Diouf excelled.

West Ham ultimately triumphed in the pursuit of the talented player, offering Slavia €22 million plus an additional €4 million in bonuses, as reported by infotbal.cz website.

The Prague club also has the option to receive a percentage of any future sales. This marks a record transfer from the Czech league. The London club has agreed to a long-term contract with the player. The defender will don the number 12 jersey.

Diouf stated: “I’m very happy to be here and to advance my career. I’m eager to work hard and integrate with my new teammates.

“Several clubs showed interest, but West Ham was my top choice. I spoke with the coach (Graham Potter), and the plan he presented made perfect sense,” he added.

Diouf characterized his move to the Premier League as the peak of his career: “Everyone aspires to play in the Premier League. I believe it’s a dream for everyone. Once they arrive, they aim to excel. I think they also possess the character needed to succeed here, and if you’re young, you want to continue your growth."

Head coach Graham Potter also expressed his delight with the new signing: “We are thrilled to welcome El Hadji Malick to West Ham United,” Potter said.

“He is a young player we have been monitoring for a while, and we believe he can be a fantastic fit for what we are trying to build at the club.

“He has demonstrated remarkable strength of character and maturity at such a young age, relocating from Senegal to Norway at 18, and then moving to Prague - and his performances have consistently been at a high level for some time.

“The Premier League will present a challenge for him, but he is prepared for it. He is young, eager, and ambitious, and I think he will be a very positive addition to the team.”

Diouf joined Slavia at the beginning of 2024 from Tromso in Norway and gradually established himself as one of the key players in their squad. The Ziguinchor native played a total of 50 competitive matches for the Prague club, scoring nine goals and assisting four more for his teammates.