View: Diangana update from reliable journo will surely offer WBA glimmer of hope for 20/21 deal
It’s hard to think of a player who has had more of an immediate endearing impact at West Brom in recent years than Grady Diangana.
The West Ham winger has been a breath of fresh air at The Hawthorns this season, and it’s a shame that he has missed such substantial chunks of it because of a recurrent hamstring complaint.
Still, when he has played he has been a game changer, scoring five goals and assisting six more in the Championship this term.
As such, it’s not a radical argument to make that you would probably struggle to find a West Brom supporter who doesn’t want him to stay at The Hawthorns for next season, but the latest update from The Athletic reporter Steve Madeley is, at first glance, hardly cause for optimism.
Writing in a piece for the outlet earlier this week, he said: “The 22-year-old winger has loved his loan spell and Albion would love to keep him for next season. Sadly, life is never quite that simple.
“A permanent deal seems out of the question.
“The Athletic understands that West Ham value Diangana — young, talented and homegrown — at more than £20 million, a figure that would prove too rich for Albion’s blood in a summer window in which their spending is likely to be modest by Premier League standards.
“Another season on loan might serve all parties but that will depend on the outcome of the coming months for Diangana’s parent club.”
But while the prospect of splashing out £20 million on the 22-year-old seems like a slim possibility, we can still take some hope from the potential for a loan deal next season.
West Ham are currently 16th in the Premier League table, level on points with 18th-placed Bournemouth.
Crucially, however, their run-in looks to be very favourable.
With games against the likes of Norwich City, Watford, Aston Villa, Burnley, and Newcastle United still to come, the Hammers will know that their survival chances rest firmly in their own hands.
If they can beat the drop – and depending on their recruitment plans for this summer – there is no reason to suggest we wouldn’t have at least a chance of landing Diangana on another loan deal in the coming months.
That would be a huge boost for the Baggies, regardless of what division we are playing in next season.
In other West Brom news, Hal Robson-Kanu has detailed how some WBA players have got through lockdown
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