When the summer transfer window opened and Graham Potter’s rebuild of West Ham began, I, like most fans, hoped for a big name or an exciting arrival to set the tone for the summer. Whilst El Hadji Malick Diouf certainly wasn’t the former originally, he has certainly caused excitement with his performances, and he is the exact profile of player that West Ham need to target for the future. The 20-year-old left-back arrived from Slavia Prague on July 15th as Potter’s first acquisition of the summer for a fee said to be around £19 million. When first linked with the switch to east London, the initial reaction was positive thanks to the defender’s superb showing against England in a national friendly, but not one of overwhelming excitement given his unknown quality. It didn’t take long for YouTube compilations of the Senegalese’s time at Slavia to hit Twitter (X), and after many saw his superb strike against FC Slovan Liberec, we were all clamouring for a deal to get done.
Immediate Impact: Pace, Power, and Pin-point Crosses
My first impressions of Diouf have been hugely positive. He has all the attributes to become one of the best in the league in his position. Pace, power, and deadeye crossing are all qualities which have made him shine in the opening fixtures. He’s adapted to the physicality of the Premier League seamlessly and I feel he will be a vital cog in the way Potter will look to set the team up going forwards. With his capability of playing both as a wing-back and as a left-back and the options of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Kyle Walker Peters at right-back, Potter switching between the preferred systems of 3-5-2 and a 4-3-3 will become a whole lot easier. Potter has mainly used him at wing-back with the intention of releasing the Senegalese’s attacking prowess, and we’ve seen the results in just four games.
Diouf has already registered two assists, one against Chelsea for Lucas Paqueta’s rocket of a strike and the second a wondrous cross for Callum Wilson to head home against Nottingham Forest. The latter was a true beauty, and it highlights what I think can become a bit of a secret weapon for West Ham going forward this season. With a crosser of the ball as good as Diouf, Niclas Füllkrug, Tomas Soucek, and Wilson should be in dreamland and I’m expecting a minimum of 10 assists from him by the end of the season.
The Data Blueprint: Attacking Prowess vs. Defensive Work-in-Progress
The data shows exactly why Potter chose Diouf as his first recruit for the rebuild. Data from FBREF (powered by Opta) shows that, in the last year compared against other fullbacks, Diouf is in the 91st percentile for non-penalty goals, the 99th percentile for total shots, the 98th percentile for assists, the 94th for shot-creating actions, the 88th for progressive passes, the 82nd for progressive carries and the 93rd for aerials won. Attacking wise, at the young age of 20, Diouf is already showing the attributes which could make him one day world-class.
I think in a way his ability to progress up the pitch and provide chances will firstly give our strikers more confidence in their service, but it will also take pressure away from Summerville when he is fully integrated into the lineup and Paqueta. Diouf’s offensive ceiling is high, but the defensive third is where he needs a bit of work to help him realise his true potential. There have been a couple of moments where he has looked a tad shaky, perhaps adapting to the fast and physical nature of Premier League attackers, but the data does back up that defensively Diouf is still a work in progress. He is in the 4th percentile for tackles, the 29th for interceptions, and the 13th for blocks. These are all things which will be more crucial when operating in a 4-3-3 compared to the attacking freedom of a 3-5-2, but I have full faith that Potter and his staff will work on this.
A ‘Brighton-esc’ Signing and Future Expectations
Overall, one of the best compliments I can give is that this arrival seems a very Brighton-esc move. Signing a relatively unknown player who can hit the ground running, develop and then make the club a large profit within a couple of seasons – which is exactly how we should be conducting our business. Although it’s early, I really think the 20-year-old will become a fan favourite and he could be an early shout for Hammer of the Year come May. He reminds me of a mix of both Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku – the pin-point crossing ability of the Englishman and the attacking excitement Masuaku brought in the early Moyes days. With these positive expectations, I think there is an early sense that if he does as well as we think he will, then this might just be his first and only season in claret and blue. I’m expecting a minimum of 10 assists from him this season, and if he isn’t already, get him in your Fantasy Premier League teams, he’s only £4.5 million and he’s already got me 16 points.
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