Journalist Nick Miller has recently made a claim about West Ham United’s sale of Grady Diangana to West Bromwich Albion.
Miller was a guest on the latest episode of the Totally Football Show podcast and the panel discussed many issues involving English football. One thing that they focused on was the London club’s decision to sell Diangana permanently to West Brom. Miller believes that the player’s sale is a ‘symbol’ of many things that are wrong at the London Stadium-based club.
Diangana was on loan at West Brom last season, but the club has now signed him permanently for a fee of £12.15 million. As a West Ham player, Diangana made 21 appearances for the club’s first-team and scored a couple of goals as well. At West Brom last season, the 22-year-old scored eight goals and picked up seven assists as well.
Miller believes that Diangana’s permanent departure is a ‘symbol’ of some things that aren’t right at West Ham currently.
He said: “In isolation, this could be actually quite a good bit of business. They get rid of a fringe player for a reasonable amount of money and if they use it to buy someone like James Tarkowski to sort out their defence a little bit, then you could very easily defend it.
Are West Ham wrong to sell Diangana?
Yes
No, it is the right decision
“It seems to be a symbol of a lot of things that are wrong at West Ham in that he is this young, quite exciting player who’s the only one they can actually shift to raise a bit of money when they have players like [Manuel] Lanzini and Felipe Anderson who are expensive and either permanently injured or not that good and no one else wants them.”
TIF Thoughts…
In a tweet, Mark Noble expressed his disappointment with the club’s sale of Diangana. He said that the decision has left him ‘sad’ and ‘angry’. The club’s star described Diangana as a ‘great kid with a great future’ as well.
The 22-year-old impressed in his stint at The Hawthorns last season and racked up a very good rating of 7.13 as well, which is a reflection of how he performed in the campaign. Those are promising signs for a player who is still young and may have contributed to the West Ham first-team this season as well. So perhaps because of that, it is strange to see the Hammers parting ways with Diangana.
Whether it was a decision made on the basis of financial needs or if it was backed by tactical reasons can only be determined when the upcoming campaign wears on.