It seems that West Brom are extremely happy with their loanee Grady Diangana.
In fact, so much so that The Sun’s Alan Nixon believes the Baggies want to sign him in a £10m deal.
The Hammers are willing to see the talented winger for the right price and it seems Slaven Bilic is at the front of the queue to secure his signature, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest it would be a mistake to offload him.
If the opinions of those who know Diangana well are anything to go by, the club might want to consider their open stance regarding a potential sale.
Manuel Pellegrini, former West Ham coach
Manuel Pellegrini was extremely impressed by Diangana’s ability during his time at the club and lauded his tendency to keep the ball and hide it from the opposition.
Not only that but he also compared his rise to that of Santi Cazorla, an icon of the game and the current Villarreal legend.
Here’s what he said to West Ham’s official website:
“He loses very few balls during the game and always has a good solution also because every player, when you receive the ball has different solutions, bad or good, he always has the best solution. I think that, in this season, he will be a player in the first squad playing a lot of games.
“I have worked with so many young players, but maybe when I arrived at Villarreal I was very impressed with Santi Cazorla. He was 19-years-old and was not in the first squad, he was with the Under-21s and in that moment, he maybe wasn’t considered a top player.
“But when I saw him play I think that he has, maybe not exactly the same as Diangana but, technical ability with a good view of the pitch and with a good solution when they receive the ball.”
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Robert Snodgrass, current West Ham player
One of the veterans of the game and an experienced part of West Ham’s squad, Robert Snodgrass has been full of praise for his young teammate.
Back in 2018, he revealed that he was something of a mentor for Diangana and hailed his willingness to learn.
Here’s what he said to West Ham’s official website, as quoted by OneFootball:
“Grady has got great ability and there’s others in the Academy like him too.
“All I say to these young lads is all you’ve got really is a chance, the same way every other youngster in other academies has a chance too. Whether you grab that chance with both hands [is up to you], and that’s what Declan Rice has done, that’s what Diangana has done.
“It was from the first game against Macclesfield where he brought that freshness, he drives at people. I said to him there’s going to be times when you try to run by a defender and you lose the ball, but get back on it and try again.
“He’s listening and he wants to learn. He’s working hard for the team too and that’s what it takes.”
Pablo Zabaleta, current West Ham playerAnother West Ham veteran who has clearly been impressed by the up and coming winger is Pablo Zabaleta.The 35-year-old hailed his bravery and said that the youngster is a dangerous prospect for the opposition when he’s going forward and taking people on with intent.Aside from his dribbling, Zabaleta also thinks the 21-year-old’s passing is good.Here’s what he said in full for West Ham’s official website in 2018, as quoted by Inside Futbol:
“Grady seems to be looking very dangerous, especially when he is in one-on-one situations. He’s not scared and he shows personality to ask for the ball and to take people on and he looks very dangerous.”Especially with the injury to Andriy Yarmolenko, the manager gave him a chance and he took it and he is showing that he wants to keep a place in the team, in the starting eleven.”He looks very dangerous going forward and he will always produce something, whether it be a good pass or a dribble”
VerdictIt seems David Moyes could lose a real talent in the making if his recent form – which has seen him bag five goals and provide six assists in the Championship this season – and the opinions of those who know him best are anything to go by.In the modern market £10m could well represent a steal for a promising attacking player with the ability to make a decisive contribution in the final third, and the Hammers could live to rue letting him slip through the net.