West Ham United announced on its official website on Tuesday that the club has signed Senegal international wonderkid defender El Hadji Malick Diouf from Slavia Prague.

According to West Ham United's official statement, Diouf has signed on a long-term four-year deal with the club which runs until the summer of 2029. At the same time, he will also wear the No. 12 jersey which was vacated by Flynn Downes after he had left the club.

In addition, according to the news brought by The Athletic's resident renowned West Ham United team correspondent resident Roshane Thomas, the Hammers paid a total of €22 million in transfer fees to Slavia Prague to sign Diouf, which does not include €4 million potential additional fees.

This transfer will also break the rumours claiming that Crystal Palace, Wolves and Brighton are also interested in competing for the signing of Diouf.

After completing his joining procedures, Diouf, who was interviewed by the West Ham United official website for the first time, said: "I am very happy to be here and hope that my career can progress. I look forward to training hard and playing with my new teammates."

"There are many clubs that want to sign me, but I chose West Ham United first. I talked to the head coach Graham Potter and it was a good choice for me."

"Everyone wants to come here to play in the Premier League. I think it's everyone's dream. When they are here, they want to do everything well. I think they also have the opportunity to play here. The personality of the ball, if you are young, you will want to continue to improve. ”

“If you are young, you must maintain your personality. It is about the team. The most important thing is the team, not the players. I want to say to the West Ham United fans that I am very happy to play here with them. I believe we will play a very exciting season this year. ”

About El Hadji Malick Diouf

The 20-year-old Diouf was born on December 28, 2004 in Ziguinchor, Senegal. He is 1.83 meters tall and primarily plays as a left-wingback. He can also play as a left midfielder or center back.

Diouf joined a local football academy in Senegal when he was a child. After graduation, he joined Tromsø in February 2023 and completed his Tromsø first-team debut by coming on as a substitute in a Norwegian Cup match one month later.

Last January, Diouf joined Slavia Prague for €1.7 million.

During his one-and-a-half-year spell with Červenobílí Diouf played 50 times for Slavia Prague in all competitions, scored 9 goals and assisted 4 times. During which he has won the Czech First League once, reached the quarterfinals of the Czech Cup once and the round of 16s of the Europa League once with the club.