West Ham new boy El Hadji Malick Diouf surprised some fans by bringing up Spurs and Everton in his very first club interview.
But the reason behind El Hadji Malick Diouf’s comments will now make perfect sense before Tottenham Hotspur or Everton fans get too carried away.
Everton boss David Moyes and bitter rivals Tottenham have actually played a big part in West Ham’s making Diouf their first signing of the Graham Potter era.
The Hammers have completed the capture of the Senegal left wingback from Slavia Prague for £19m – with a possible further £4m in add-ons.
Moyes did a superb job in east London before his return to Everton.
Moyes and Tottenham had hand in West Ham signing Diouf
But he neglected to invest in top young full-backs during his time with the Hammers.
That has led to Potter making the position one of his top priorities after a dismal 18 months, which started with Moyes’ final six months in charge.
And the Diouf deal has only been possible after West Ham controversially sold Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham for £54.5m.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
Kudus was highlighted by Thomas Frank as a player he wanted at Spurs.
But there is no love lost between the Hammers and Tottenham, underlined by the fact no players have transferred between the rivals for over 14 years.
That changed when David Sullivan sanctioned the Kudus deal.
Although Diouf’s capture may give West Ham the last laugh over Spurs as he matched Kudus’ stats from left-back and is said to be a top character.
Some Spurs fans believe the signing of Kudus proves they are a bigger club than West Ham.
There is a seemingly never-ending tribal debate over that subject involving the likes of the Hammers, Everton and Tottenham.
So West Ham fans feared the worst when both clubs got a mention the first time they heard from Diouf after his arrival.
But here’s why West Ham new boy Diouf mentioned Everton and Spurs in one of his first interviews.
Why West Ham new boy Diouf mentioned Everton and Spurs
West Ham’s media team took a walk with Diouf at Rush Green armed with quick-fire questions to get to know the Hammers new boy better.
Diouf confirmed the correct pronunciation of his name, described his playing style as ‘counter-attacking’ and named Real Madrid and Brazil great Marcelo as his football idol.
But it was when he was asked what Premier League club he was ‘most excited to play against’ that it caught many by surprise.
The usually inevitable answer to questions like that is the likes of Man United, Liverpool or a Man City.
But Diouf rather refreshingly answered ‘Everton’.
Now the Toffees are a big club and they are going into an exciting new era at the Hill Dickinson Stadium with former Hammers boss Moyes at the helm.
But there’s no getting away from the fact it was a rather surprising response.
The reason, though, is quite simple.
One of Diouf’s best friends and players he looks up to most in football is Iliman Ndiaye.
Brilliant Toffees winger Ndiaye is a real idol in Senegal and has been making a name for himself in the Premier League – something Diouf admits is ‘every young Senegalese footballer’s dream’.
Diouf and Ndiaye were two of Senegal’s best players when they recently beat England 3-1.
As for Tottenham, their mention was more clear cut.
Ndiaye and Sarr the reason Diouf mentioned Toffees and Spurs
Diouf was asked which Premier League player he was ‘most looking forward to playing against’ for West Ham.
His response was another inspired by his Senegal connections.
Tottenham’s Pape Matar Sarr was the response – another of his close friends from the international setup.
Diouf will get both his wishes just six games into the new Premier League campaign.
The Hammers welcome Spurs to the London Stadium in game week three and then go to Everton in game week six.
Although when West Ham face Tottenham, Diouf will have a much more important task on his hands than Sarr – keeping that man Kudus quiet.