Time to drop Diagne – West Brom striker can’t do the basics
Mbaye Diagne had another woeful afternoon upfront for West Brom as they drew 0-0 at home with relegation rivals Newcastle.
The Baggies were wasteful in front of the goal, registering 13 shots overall with just three of those hitting the target.
Diagne arrived on loan from Galatasary in the January window. The Senegal international had scored nine times in his last eight games for the Turkish giants and looked a shrewd bit of business by Sam Allardyce.
It’s not working out that way, though. He’s scored just once since making the move to The Hawthorns and has been very wasteful in front of goal.
Speaking to talkSPORT post-match, Big Sam was critical of his side’s lack of cutting edge, saying: “We’re not clinical enough, we’re wasting chances. Ultimately our undoing is not scoring a goal when we’ve had many many chances to do so.”
Mbaye misfiring… again
Diagne’s performances are causing much frustration amongst Baggies fans. Since making his debut against Fulham, the striker has had 19 attempts on goal in his eight league appearances, scoring once.
According to Opta, his xG since his first appearance is 4.63, but has only bagged against Manchester United. He could have had a hattrick that day, but again was rash with his finishing. He’s got a higher xG than Mo Salah, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus in that time.
The most frustrating factor to his game is his failure to stay onside. According to the Premier League official website, Diagne has been offside 12 times in eight matches. Three of those times he’s gone on to score, but they were chalked off.
This stat has him within the top 20 players to be called offside in the league, despite the fact he’s only played eight matches. He’s averaging 1.5 offsides per game, it simply isn’t good enough.
It’s these fine margins that you can ill-afford to have when you’re fighting for your lives. Diagne was brought into the club to steer us away from relegation, but if anything his inability to do the basics is what’s costing us.
This was a massive week for us. We came so close to getting a point in the Everton game, but against Diagne was wasteful. Maybe it’s time to drop him, and get Karlan Grant back in the starting XI.
In other West Brom news, Chris Lepkowski was left frustrated by Diagne’s performance against Newcastle.
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