One of the hottest prospects off of the West Ham academy production line in recent years has to be Grady Diangana. The 22-year-old has only added fuel to the fire by living up to the hype while on-loan in the Championship with automatic promotion chasers West Bromwich Albion.
Though it appears the Englishman may be well aware of his worth, as reports have emerged suggesting that the flying winger will only remain at the London Stadium if the Hammers can convince him that he will be guaranteed first-team opportunities.
Ajax and Celtic have been linked with attempting to pry the prized asset away from East London, but David Moyes must do whatever it takes to convince Diangana that he has a bright future in the capital. It has been reported that the Hammers would be looking for a fee between £15m and £20m for the Englishman’s services. Still, with some more Premier League experience under his belt, the winger could be worth significantly more than that in the future.
It is easy to see why West Brom are another one of the sides interested in taking on Diangana permanently, as they’ve experienced what he is capable of first-hand during his 28 appearances, having played a vital role in their promotion push. For the Baggies, the 22-year-old winger has scored seven times, along with providing five assists, as he has shown his parent club what the midfielder is capable of in his second professional season.
Furthermore, only Matheus Pereira has been involved in more of West Brom’s Championship goals this term than Diangana’s 12, highlighting the influence he has had on their campaign as they’ve put themselves in a prime position to return to the Premier League.
It appears that David Moyes is left with little choice, if the reports are to be believed then the West Ham manager simply has to convince Diangana that he will frequently feature for the Irons next term. The electric 22-year-old would be a stellar addition to Moyes’ squad given that the only out and out wingers available to the Scot are Felipe Anderson, Jarrod Bowen and Andriy Yarmolenko.
Diangana would face stiff competition from all three teammates for a starting berth, especially given Bowen’s recent form. However, given the Ukrainian international has a catastrophic injury record, having missed 45 matches for West Ham. Additionally, Anderson has struggled to replicate his debut season’s output this term, scoring eight fewer goals, meaning the Englishman should get opportunities to oust both players from the starting eleven.
Should the Hammers allow Diangana to depart, they will have to suffer the consequences which may potentially include watching the winger flourish elsewhere. The tremendous talent he has displayed in the Championship this season should be enough to convince Moyes to promise the Englishman an abundance of first-team action.
