Carlos Corberan sets Grady Diangana new challenge at West Brom following injury return
Carlos Corberan has challenged Grady Diangana to develop consistency in his performances and mature as a player at West Brom following the end of the transfer window and his return from injury.
The 25-year-old returned to action for the Baggies as a late substitute in their 2-1 defeat to Huddersfield Town before the September international break and is now ready to compete with the likes of Jed Wallace and Matt Phillips for minutes at The Hawthorns.
Diangana had been the subject of plenty of transfer speculation this summer including links with Championship rivals Leeds United and Premier League side Burnley (Alan Nixon, 27 August), but Corberan is thrilled to be working with the former West Ham man again.
As quoted by Birmingham Live on Thursday (14 September) Corberan said: “I am very happy to have Diangana with me. I cannot tell you anything you don’t know about Diangana. He has proved what a good player he is. It is true he needs to find a level of consistency to mature as a player and impact the games.
“I am happy to work with players who have a lot of talent, to help them develop even more. He surprised me in the last year a lot with his defensive level, but Diangana needs to impact his attacking level with the basic defence.
“It is true some players had the option to leave here but in the end, they didn’t do it, because they wanted to keep part of this project and this club.”
Mature
It is quite easy to forget that Diangana is only 25 years old as it feels as though he has been around The Hawthorns for so much longer. That might be partly because he’s played under five different managers in two different divisions during his four-year spell both on loan and as a permanent signing.
While many will have thought this summer was a chance to cash in on the former West Ham winger, it appears as though he is ready to prove himself as a West Brom player and remind everyone of just how good he can be in the Championship.
During his initial season on loan with the Baggies, Diangana was untouchable, registering 15 goal contributions in just 30 Championship appearances. If Corberan can discover that version of the former England youth international once again it will be a huge boost to Albion’s play-off hopes.
Hopefully, he is able to avoid any further injury and get his head down to match the challenge set by his manager as a fit and firing Diangana would make any Championship team a hell of a lot stronger.
In other West Brom news, Tony Pulis has urged the Baggies to do everything they can to keep Carlos Corberan