Mbaye Diagne’s dip in front of goal is a sign of West Brom curse striking again
Mbaye Diagne has made an impact at West Brom but his finishing has possibly cost the club its last shot at surviving in the Premier League.
The striker has scored just one goal since joining on loan and cost us points against Manchester United and Burnley with wayward finishing.
It is surprising that the Senegal international has been so lacklustre in front of goal as he built a reputation for his finishing in Turkey.
A return of nine goals for Galatasary this year indicated he would make a goalscoring impact, as did a rave review from a Turkish journalist who told The Athletic that he was a “sniper”.
He has failed to live up to that billing by scoring just once – XG stats suggest he should have between four to five goals instead.
In fact, no Premier League player has a higher xG stat than Diagne since he arrived in England, per The Athletic.
That record is simply not good enough and Albion would be a lot closer to safety if the 29-year-old had showed a little composure when presented with scoring opportunities.
Instead, Diagne looks like he is the latest attacker to have been struck by the West Brom curse.
Karlan Grant, Charlie Austin and Callum Robinson all suffered a similar dip upon arriving at The Hawthorns.
Grant and Austin joined with strong goalscoring records but like Diagne they have failed to hit previous heights.
Grant scored 19 goals for Huddersfield last season despite recording an xG of 18.1 (Infogol), yet has gone on to score just once this term.
He even scored four goals in nine games for Huddersfield in their dire Premier League relegation year.
But he now looks a shadow of his former self and bereft of confidence.
As for Austin, he just did not fit in with us.
In his first year as a Baggie he scored just ten goals for us despite an xG of 12.9.
His zero goals for West Brom this term suggests he could not handle the step up to the Premier League, but it is possible he just does not suit us as he has five goals in 12 games for QPR.
And an xG of 3.6 shows he is overperforming – something he never did for Albion.
Finally, Robinson may provide more than just goals but his finishing also dropped when he first arrived.
Last season he recorded an xG of 4.7 but had just three goals to show from it.
Diagne isn’t the only striker to struggle with the Baggies, though he has at least improved our attack with his link-up play.
He has a chance to put things right in the remaining games, starting with Crystal Palace at the weekend.
In other West Brom news, ‘It’ll be massive’ – Masi makes prediction about future of ‘outstanding’ West Brom star.
Be sure to follow West Brom News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Baggies and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Phillips.