West Ham Zone View: Robinson gets verdict on ‘huge blow’ to West Ham man spot on
The progress that West Ham United winger Grady Diangana has made on loan at West Bromwich Albion this season has been incredible to watch.
The 21-year-old has taken his game to another level under Slaven Bilic’s watch this campaign, sharpening the end product which was too often underwhelming during his breakthrough season at the London Stadium last time out.
However, his momentum came to a crashing halt with a hamstring problem which ruled him out of the festive period.
In his first game back against Stoke City on Monday night, he pulled up with another hamstring issue and is now out for the foreseeable future.
That’s something that former England international feels is a big setback for the Baggies’ promotion hopes.
“That is a huge blow for them,” he told Football Insider. “I mean, he’s got five goals, five assists this year, and I think he has been outstanding for them. It will be a big miss, a big blow, depending on how long he’s out for.”
While Robinson is spot on that this is real issue for Bilic to deal with for however long Diangana is out, it’s also a blow to Hammers boss David Moyes.
The Scot confirmed this week that he was considering bringing the youngster back to the London Stadium for the second half of the season, but that his injury put an end to that.
That’s a real shame, because Diangana would’ve provided this Irons team with some much-needed pace and cutting edge in the final third.
He is averaging 1.5 shots, 1.3 key passes and a mammoth 2.3 dribbles per game this season. He clearly has the qualities that Moyes’ side are missing at the moment.
Alas, the east London outfit’s fans will have to wait until next season to get a reminder of what Diangana looks like in a claret and blue shirt.
In other West Ham news, a reliable source has claimed that the club are £6million short of the asking price for a transfer target.