The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas has recently discussed West Ham United’s sale of Grady Diangana to West Bromwich Albion.
Last week, it was announced that the Hammers had sold the English forward to the Baggies for an £18m fee (per BBC).
The sale of the youngster then led the club’s captain, Mark Noble, to air his frustration on social media as he tweeted that he was: ‘gutted, angry and sad that Grady has left’ (per Mark Noble).
Earlier in the summer, it had been reported by The Sun that the 22-year-old attacker was ‘reluctant’ to return to the London Stadium after his loan move to West Brom as he wanted guaranteed first-team football.
However, in the latest episode of The Athletic’s U Irons podcast, Thomas stated that the Englishman did not want to leave the Irons in the current transfer window.
He said: “Obviously, Diangana didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay, he wanted to fight for his place.
“After the Ipswich match he said he was looking forward to working with the team, and then this happens.
“Fans are frustrated for the simple fact that, when Diangana returned, everyone [thought] he was really great at West Brom [and] we struggled last season in terms of having a right fit for the left wing.
“[Pablo] Fornals played there, [Manuel] Lanzini played there, [Michail] Antonio played there, Felipe Anderson played there, we just kept rotating.
“But in Grady Diangana, you had a player who was just an ideal fit and, as I mentioned, the game against Ipswich was a case in point, [he] looked so good in that match.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, he believes that the 22-year-old forward did not want to leave the Hammers this summer.
He also understands that supporters are frustrated as they were hoping that the winger could plug a hole in West Ham’s team that was an issue during the 2019/20 season.
Are you still angry about the sale of Grady Diangana?
No, I'm over it now
Yes, I'm still furious
Certainly, the fact that the Englishman was the Baggies’ third-best performer in the Championship during the most recent season (per WhoScored) goes to show that he has talent.
Furthermore, Diangana bagged eight goals and six assists, had he done the same for West Ham in the league above then he would have been their second-top goalscorer and top assistor.
So, it is clear to see that the Irons have shipped out an impressive young talent which may perhaps be more frustrating for supporters after it was revealed that he did not want to leave.