‘Wow’ – Brown blown away by West Ham starlet who has ‘got something’
Michael Brown has revealed that he has been blown away by West Ham youngster Grady Diangana ever since the first time he watched him play.
The winger, who is currently on loan at West Brom in the Championship, has enjoyed a fruitful season in the second tier, scoring five goals and assisting six more.
And Brown believes that he would be further ahead in his progression with the Hammers were it not for their recent tendency to spend big on new arrivals.
Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “I first seen him, there was a game against Macclesfield and I think they won 8-0 – I thought: ‘Who’s the kid coming in? Wow.’ He’s just so difficult to mark, left and right, and I thought, ‘this kid’s got something’.
“It was Macclesfield, it was comfy but I just thought he had a bit, and then he got the chance to go from that game into the Premier League squads and he’d be drifting in and out, coming on.
“It was probably only with the recruitment that West Ham had, the amount of players, that’s knocked him back slightly.”
Can Diangana progress into the first team picture at West Ham?
You would certainly hope so.
Potentially, things could depend largely on which club is in which division come the start of the new season.
West Brom look nailed on to go up, and if they are to do so, and if the Irons go down, could they make a move to take Diangana to the top flight with them?
Or, in that scenario, would the Hammers hang on to their asset for dear life, knowing how effective he can be in that league?
Either way, one thing that is for certain is that Diangana deserves his shot in the Premier League.
He has struggled with injuries this term, true, but when he’s been fit, he’s been brilliant.
With 8.14 successful dribbles and 2.29 accurate crosses per game, as per Wyscout, he is a constant creative threat, and it’s perhaps a shock that he wasn’t recalled in January in an effort to boost the Hammers’ hopes of avoiding the drop.
Hopefully, it won’t be a decision that comes back to bite them.
In other West Ham news, Confirmed – Hammers first teamer set to be sidelined for six weeks.