According to the Express and Star, Grady Diangana has decided to join West Bromwich Albion on a season-long loan, rejecting the offer from Championship rivals Derby County.
The report claims Baggies coach Slaven Bilic was influential in the decision. Diangana was set to join Derby, but Bilic’s intervention will now see the talented wide player move to the Hawthorns.
The Rams have enjoyed a real high over the past few days. They beat Huddersfield Town in their opening Championship fixture, before announcing a stunning deal for Wayne Rooney.
Missing out on Daingana, however, is a blow for the club. Derby are light in the wide areas, and the West Ham youngster ticks a lot of boxes in terms of what the Rams are looking for.
The left-footed right winger came through the youth ranks in East London. He made his Premier League debut for the Hammers last season, gaining valuable Premier League experience.
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West Ham have several options out wide therefore a loan move makes sense. Diangana has pace, quality on the ball and an eye for goal. The Championship should be the making of him this term.
He would have been all-but guaranteed a first-team spot at Derby. Last summer’s signing Florian Jozefzoon started in the win at Huddersfield, but the Dutch winger struggled to impress. Mason Bennett, meanwhile, makes a bigger impact when coming off the bench rather than starting games.
Derby manager Phillip Cocu will know there is room for improvement on that right wing. In his preferred 4-3-3 system, a left-footed winger who loves to attack such as Diangana is the ideal target.
The transfer deadline closes on Thursday at 5pm. Derby fans will be hopeful the Rams have a back-up option, whereas West Brom will be feeling quite confident they have pieced together a potential promotion squad.