Several clubs were keen on Baggies winger Grady Diangana this summer, but he remains in Carlos Corberan’s squad
West Bromwich Albion managed to retain most of their first-team players despite financial constraints and did well to retain goalkeeper Alex Palmer, who rejected an offer from Luton Town.
Grady Diangana, who reportedly had interest from several clubs including Burnley, Leeds United and Leicester City, remained at West Bromwich Albion despite rumors he was open to offers.
Despite the expectation that Diangana would leave, he is unsurprising that he is still at the club given his performances since signing permanently and the limited number of clubs willing to pay his valuation.
This article is part of Football League World’s “Terrace Talk” series, providing personal opinions from our FLW fan experts on the latest news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
West Bromwich Albion didn’t have a very active summer during the transfer window, but it was more about keeping the team together after the parachute payments expired.
The Baggies may have done well not to lose as many first-team players as they might have done last summer, with Dara O’Shea the only significant permanent departure for Burnley.
Goalkeeper Alex Palmer, who broke into the first team last season to succeed David Button between the sticks, was the subject of offers from Luton Town, but the keeper turned down the opportunity to move to Kenilworth Road.
One player who could have left Albion this summer but didn’t was Grady Diangana, who the club were reportedly open to offers for.
What is Grady Diangana’s current situation at West Brom?
In September 2020, Diangana signed a permanent five-year contract with The Hawthorns following a previous successful loan spell. The contract could have ultimately been worth £18 million.
This means the 25-year-old has just under two years left in his current tenure, but the winger has failed to reach the heights expected since that move, which perhaps explains why Albion are said to have sold to the right price.
The Express & Star claimed last month that Burnley, Leeds United and Leicester City were all interested in Diangana, with Saudi Arabia also interested at the time.
A £7 million price tag was announced, but the September 1 transfer deadline passed and Diangana was still part of Carlos Corberan’s squad.
Diangana has made just one appearance for Albion this season after undergoing foot surgery in the summer, in a brief appearance against Huddersfield Town on 2 September.
The Democratic Republic of Congo-born striker must now try to prove himself to come back. in Corberan’s starting XI if he can.
Is it any surprise that Grady Diangana is still a West Brom player?
FLW Baggies fan expert Matt Smith is not at all shocked that Diangana will stay at the Hawthorns after the transfer window closes.
“Am I surprised Grady Diangana is still a West Brom player? That’s what I would say,” Matt said while speaking to Football League World.
“That’s because there have been a lot of whispers, rumors and rumors around the club this summer that we were looking to sell arguably our greatest asset.”
“It’s obviously up for debate and probably not true, but it seemed like we really wanted to get rid of him and he wanted to leave too.”
“If you put those two factors together, I would expect him to leave even though he hasn’t really done anything since his permanent deal a few years ago, but even then you’d have to think about who would want him.”
“Of course there will be clubs, but who would want him worth around £4-5m? Only a limited number of Championship and Premier League clubs will be able to pay this price.
“Luton probably couldn’t do it, but do any of these clubs want to bet on someone who has been poor for the last three or four years?
“So, am I surprised no one wants him?” Not really.”
