Why West Ham must oblige Bamba Dieng chance as transfer now offered
Bamba Dieng could be the man to fire West Ham United back to the Premier League.
With no new signings through the door yet, some West Ham fans may just be starting worry that this summer is passing the Hammers by.
But, activity does seem to be heating up at the London Stadium, and we could well be in for a very busy second half of the window.
West Ham have lost Callum Wilson from their centre-forward ranks, but they could now be set to replace him with ex-Lorient and Senegal hitman Dieng.
The 26-year-old was plucked from Senegalese football by Marseille in October 2020, and he's been plying his trade in France ever since.
And now, fresh off the back of a decent 2025-26 campaign, he could be there for the taking for West Ham if they want him.
Why West Ham have Bamba Dieng in their laps
West Ham Zone has previously discussed West Ham's strikers not being particularly to blame for relegation to the Championship.
Indeed, there was a whole plethora of reasons behind the Hammers' shortcomings last term, but Taty Castellanos looked like a player who could've kept the team up had he received better service.
Unfortunately, that's a hypothetical scenario that we'll never know the answer to, but what may not be as such is West Ham's opportunity to further bolster their strike force this summer.
That's because a report from TEAMtalk has claimed that West Ham, alongside their Championship rivals Middlesbrough, have already been offered the chance to sign Dieng.
He's now a free agent after turning down a new contract with French Ligue 1 outfit Lorient this summer, and is claimed to have held talks with a host of British sides.
Bournemouth are claimed to have made a move for him, but the striker is said to have turned them down due to his unwillingness to play what would likely be a squad role with the Cherries.
However, the evidence he delivered in 2025-26 suggests that West Ham shouldn't be letting him land anywhere else other than the London Stadium.
How Bamba Dieng was among Ligue 1's top strikers in 2025-26
It's rare that you get the opportunity to sign a goalscorer on a free transfer, and especially one who's just shown he can produce in one of Europe's top leagues.
Dieng scored 10 times and provided one assist in 22 Ligue 1 games last season, whilst also adding a further five goals to his tally from three Coupe de France outings.
As per FotMob, his 0.74 goals per 90 minutes average ranked him in the top 7.7 per cent of all Ligue 1 strikers in 2025-26, which was even better than the league's top scorer, Esteban Lepaul, who averaged 0.70 per 90 for Rennes respectively.
On top of that, he also ranked among the very best in French top flight per game for his 0.65 expected goals (xG), 1.77 shots on target, 3.39 shots and 50 per cent aerial duel win rate respectively.
His performance in that last metric is particularly impressive given he stands at a modest 5'10".
So, for a player who would cost West Ham nothing, he's clearly got the ability to score plenty of goals at Championship level, and paired with the aforementioned Castellanos, those two could be a deadly one-two punch to go to war with in the second tier.