Grady Diangana is currently on loan at West Brom from West Ham and is scheduled to return to the London club at the end of this season.
The young winger has had his fair share of injury problems this season, resulting in him missing quite a lot of action, but many people associated with the Hammers are excited about his future.
The 21-year-old has made 21 first-team appearances for West Ham, scoring twice and registering one assist in the process (Transfermarkt).
So, how could his career at the club go? We’ve had a deeper look at five potential outcomes for the player.
1) Stay at West Ham for his entire career – become a club legend
This is probably what nearly every West Ham fan would want. The winger came through the ranks at the club and if he stayed with the Hammers until the end of his career, we’re pretty sure nobody would argue with that.
Obviously, there’s a long time left, but it is a possibility.
2) Perform well in the first team and secure move to another English club, e.g. Manchester United
This is a scenario that may hurt many Hammers fans. However, it could be the sad truth.
If Diangana impresses in the next few seasons for the club, then the higher end Premier League sides could start to register their interest, similar to what is happening to Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish at the moment.
3) Perform well and move abroad – e.g. Borussia Dortmund
Young English players are proving to be very useful to many German clubs at the moment and the same could happen to Diangana.
If he shows his quality with the Hammers, some foreign clubs could see an opportunity to sign him up to help him to continue advancing in his career. Nobody thought Serge Gnabry would hit the heights he’s at now…the same could happen to Diangana.
4) Struggle in first-team for a few years – End up moving to a smaller club for game time
This would be very unfortunate, but it’s happened to many talented players before.
Coming through and being successful at a big club like West Ham is challenging, mainly because of the big-money signings you have to compete with. If Diangana can’t nail down a starting role, he may just be a rotation player for a few years before finally moving a step down to get playing time.
5) Struggle in first-team and have multiple loan spells before being sold
Possibly the worst outcome for him and the club.
Many fans were already sceptical about loaning him out this season and if he can’t get into the team next term, he may need to make another temporary switch, before finally leaving the club without fulfilling his huge potential.
