Grady Diangana - The West Ham youngster making the most of his chance
It was a huge show of faith by Manuel Pellegrini that saw Grady Diangana make just his second Premier League appearance of his career. Having come on late on in the 3-1 win over Manchester United, the West Ham boss elected to use the 20-year-old from the bench in the 1-0 loss at the hands of Tottenham last month.
As Andriy Yarmolenko was stretchered off with a season-ending Achilles injury following an awkward fall at the end of the first half, Pellegrini then and there elected to call upon Diangana as the man to replace the club’s big money summer arrival, despite having experienced pair Michail Antonio and Arthur Masuaku on the bench.
As the injuries continue to pile up for the West Ham boss, the emergence of Diangana has been a breath of fresh air for the Hammers out wide. The youngster bagged twice in the 8-0 Carabao Cup win over Macclesfield in late September and since then; the only way has been up for the wideman. While he was unable to fire West Ham to an equaliser in the aforementioned 1-0 loss to Tottenham, Diangana’s impact has helped the Hammers settle on a consistent system in a 4-1-4-1 setup.
With Felipe Anderson on the opposite flank, West Ham are now able to properly stretch opponents. Indeed, the pair rank among the top four players for successful dribbles per 90 of all Hammers players, with Diangana (4.2) top - this placing among the top 10 Premier League players too - and the club’s record signing fourth (1.8) in this stat. With the ability to beat a man with ease, both players also have the end product to match their dribbling ability.
Anderson (2.3) is top for key passes per 90 of all West Ham players, closely following by Diangana (2.1). Having recently appeared on the Football INDEX market, it’s no wonder Diangana’s buy price his risen 59.24% over the last week as traders aim to capitalise on his inclusion and emergence as a first team regular under Pellegrini.
His playing time may have been limited to just four league appearances this season, yet he has made the most of his chance to nail down a regular starting spot. His best-rated performance of the season came in last weekend’s 4-2 win over Burnley, where Diangana provided the assist for Anderson’s first goal and West Ham’s second in a victory that saw him complete more dribbles (6) than any other player and make the joint-most key passes (5) in the Premier League in gameweek 11. His performance return a WhoScored rating of 7.86, his best in a West Ham shirt.
Boasting a buy price of £2.34 at the time of writing, West Ham fans will hope to see that rise as it’ll be an indication of Diangana’s good form out wide for the east London side. Pellegrini invested heavily in the squad over the summer to improve the squad, yet Diangana’s emergence as a key player is an example of the quality of the players coming through the West Ham ranks at this point in time.
It’ll serve as a boost for those youth team players looking to make an impact for the senior side. Some will look to his excellent form out wide and hope to have the opportunity to prove their credentials to the Hammers boss.
With West Ham up against a lowly Huddersfield side this weekend, an opponent they smashed 4-1 at the John Smith’s Stadium last season, Diangana will view the encounter as another chance to prove his worth to Pellegrini and the Hammers faithful. After a superb showing against Burnley, there is no reason why a repeat of that performance isn't in the pipeline as the young attacker makes the most of his opportunity to consolidate a regular starting role for West Ham.
