'Outstanding': BBC Pundit Garth Crooks Hails Manuel Pellegrini Signing After Chelsea Draw

BBC pundit Garth Crooks heaped praise on new West Ham signing following the East London club's 0-0 draw at home to Chelsea. The West Ham defender helped his

BBC pundit Garth Crooks heaped praise on new West Ham signing following the East London club's 0-0 draw at home to Chelsea.

The West Ham defender helped his side keep Chelsea at bay for the full 90 minutes, and earned his side what could prove to be a crucial point.

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Had it not been for Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko spurning a glorious opportunity, then West Ham could have snatched all three points from the five-time Premier League champions.

Diop earned a space in Garth Crooks' coveted Team of the Week column for the BBC. Crooks explained that this was due to a series of consistent performances, not just one isolated display.

Crooks wrote: ''He was outstanding against Everton last week and was unlucky not to make my TOTW then.''

The former Tottenham and Stoke winger went on to write: ''However, another outstanding performance by Issa Diop and a clean sheet - against Chelsea of all teams, having been battered in the opening exchanges - has not gone unnoticed.''

A lot of ❤️ for Issa Diop! pic.twitter.com/QLrMLP6b8P

— West Ham United (@WestHam) September 18, 2018

Crooks concludes the section on Diop by highlighting some stats which show just how dominant the West Ham defender was at the weekend: ''Diop made more blocks (two) than any other player on the pitch and he also had the highest passing accuracy (94.7%) for the hosts.''

After a disastrous start to the season, West Ham appear to have steadied the ship in recent weeks. The Hammers lost their first four matches of the season, but recorded an explosive 3-1 victory against Everton in their fifth. The draw against Chelsea takes West Ham out of the relegation zone, but they are not out of the woods yet as there next Premier League fixture is a visit to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United.