Frank McAvennie has urged West Ham United not to sell rumoured Rangers and West Bromwich Albion target Grady Diangana in the summer transfer window.
Reports have emerged that Rangers and West Brom will look to test West Ham’s resolve in the summer with moves to lure Diangana out of East London following his role in the Baggies’ promotion back into the Premier League.
Diangana started 23 of his 30 Championship appearances during a one-season loan spell at the Hawthorns which featured eight goals and seven assists, despite hamstring injuries disrupting the 22-year-old’s run in the side before the campaign was put on pause.
West Brom boss Slaven Bilic is keen to see his side now snap up a permanent deal for Diangana, but faces competition from Rangers after Steven Gerrard’s Ibrox outfit made a move to poach the England U21 international.
David Moyes is not believed to be open to selling Diangana and West Ham chiefs have slapped a £20million asking price on the forward to ward off any pursuit, though may be tempted into cashing in with the attacker eager to continue playing regular first-team football.
Moyes could offer Diangana a more prominent role at the London Stadium next term as he rates the Irons product highly, and McAvennie is keen to see the Scottish head coach explore that more as it could help to unlock the best from Pablo Fornals.
“There is room for him at West Ham,” McAvennie told Football Insider. “Fornals is getting pushed back and [Aaron] Cresswell is letting him come back.
“If Julian Dicks was playing he would have said to Fornals: ‘Get up the park. I’ll deal with this.’
“I do not think Fornals is a winger, so Diangana could slot in there. I think Fornals is an awfully good player, but I would play him inside rather than out wide.
“He works his socks off, but it takes away from what he can do going forward.”
What should Moyes do with Diangana in the summer?
Keep
Sell
Loan
Fornals moved to the London Stadium for £24m last summer and ended his maiden campaign in the Premier League as West Ham’s joint-most creative player with five assists, but there was clearly more to come from the Spaniard.
Michail Antonio (3.5), Andriy Yarmolenko (2.4), Jarrod Bowen (2.3), Sebastien Haller (2.2), Albian Ajeti (2.0) and Tomas Soucek (1.7) all averaged more shots per 90 minutes than Fornals (1.5) in the Premier League this season, according to WhoScored data.
Fornals also only ranked 14th among the West Ham squad for successful dribbles with 0.6 per 90 minutes and 11th for key passes (0.8), whereas Diangana averaged 2.0 key balls, 2.3 shots, 3.5 successful dribbles and attempted 2.1 crosses per 90 minutes in the Championship.
