West Brom fans have reacted with praise to a positive U23s performance from their 19-year-old French attacker Cheikh Diaby.
Diaby scored all three goals in West Brom’s recent 3-0 U23 Premier League Cup win over Scunthorpe United. Diaby’s hat-trick helped the Baggies’ U23s to their fourth win from five games in Premier League Cup Group C, where they now hold a four-point lead over second-placed Newcastle United.
West Brom signed the French attacker in October, following a ‘week-long training stint’ during which the free-agent earned the approval of West Brom boss Slaven Bilic. Prior to joining the Baggies, Diaby had expected to sign with Valencia, however that deal ultimately ‘fell through’, allowing West Brom to swoop in and get the deal done.
Some West Brom fans have shared their delight on Twitter to the 19-year-old’s impressive U23 display versus Scunthorpe United in midweek. Read a selection of the positive reactions of some West Brom fans to Diaby’s recent game-winning performance in the tweets below.
A Cheikh Diaby hat-trick helps us to a fourth Premier League Cup victory, which means we are Group C winners with a game still to play. ??
Well done boys!#PLCup | #WBA pic.twitter.com/K41gVbi6fi
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) February 13, 2020
This guy is a baller
— WEST BROM FAN TV (@ALBIONFANTV) February 13, 2020
Took him a long time to get fit but what a find by our scouts!
— Joe (@Yacxb) February 13, 2020
https://twitter.com/zverevera/status/1227985024286367745
Nice one – have we bagged another young star? Can we keep him lol
— Luke Stokes (@lukestokes84) February 13, 2020
Great news, good to see him finally play & a hat-trick to boot.
— Power to the people (@mr_dead_2012) February 13, 2020
Get him in the first team mix ??
— The Baggies Podcast ?? (@TheBaggiesPod) February 13, 2020
Hopefully a cup appearance against toon for diaby
— mark (@thefullmontyb91) February 13, 2020
What do we think?
Judging by his recent U23 performance, the former Valencia target appears to be developing nicely since completing his move to West Brom. Naturally, this has been met with calls from some to see the forward integrated into the first-team set-up sooner rather than later.
The Baggies’ academy has been efficient at producing first-team players in recent years. Some recent West Brom academy graduates include 20-year-old Dara O’Shea, 21-year-old Kyle Edwards, and 19-year-old Nathan Ferguson, all three of whom have featured for the first-team this season, with the latter two each making over 20 Championship appearances.
The success of West Brom’s academy has been evident in recent years. The three recent academy graduates mentioned above show that there is a pathway to the first team for academy players at West Brom. Should Diaby’s development continue as planned, he will likely join the trio mentioned above as a first-team member.