Expectations were high of Grady Diangana when he was coming through West Ham United's academy. He scored seven goals with six assists in 66 games for the club's Under-21s. The winger also helped them win the Premier League Cup, and played in both the finals legs against Hull City. West Ham's captain Jarrod Bowen was playing for Hull that day. However, not many fans will remember seeing him in action at Upton Park in the first leg.
In terms of first-team action for West Ham, Diangana scored just twice, with one assist in 21 games. His two goals came in an 8-0 win over Macclesfield Town in the EFL Cup. His assist set up Felipe Anderson to help West Ham defeat Burnley 4-2 in the Premier League. West Ham fans might also be wondering what happened to Anderson. He now plays back in Brazil for Palmeiras after having a spell back with Lazio.
Diangana was sent on loan to West Bromwich Albion for the 2019/20 season. He was excellent for the Baggies that campaign in the Championship, scoring eight goals with seven assists in 30 games. This was under ex-West Ham player and manager, Slaven Bilic. They helped West Brom to promotion that season, where they finished second in the division behind Leeds United.
That summer, many West Ham fans wanted Diangana to be in action for them. However, he was sold permanently to West Brom. This led to fury amongst Hammers players as well as the supporters. Mark Noble even took to Twitter to write, "As captain of this football club I’m gutted, angry and sad that Grady has left, great kid with a great future!" Declan Rice and Jack Wilshere also made statements about his departure on Instagram.
We will never know what would have happened had Diangana stayed at West Ham
The winger did not live up to expectations in his first and only Premier League season with West Brom. He scored just once and played just 20 games, missing much of the campaign with a hamstring injury.
Diangana would go on to be a good player for the Baggies back in the Championship. However, he only helped them get to the playoffs once, where they lost in the semi-finals to Southampton. In total, Diangana played 202 times for West Brom, scoring 26 times with 22 assists.
He left the Baggies when his contract expired last year, and he was then snapped up by Elche. He played 20 times for them in La Liga last season, scoring just once in a 1-1 draw with Valencia. However, he has yet to feature for them this campaign, being left on the bench on seven occasions.
Diangana is contracted to Elche until the end of the season, but he should be looking at moving on in January. The player has previously been linked with other La Liga teams and clubs in the Saudi Pro League. However, it is uncertain if they will still take a chance on him.
In terms of international football, Diangana played for England up to the U21 level. However, he then switched his allegiance to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who is on loan at Aston Villa from West Ham, also did this. Diangana has also played alongside former Hammer Arthur Masuaku for DR Congo. However, Diangana has not represented his country since March of last year. Therefore, he was not part of their side at the World Cup.
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