West Bromwich Albion could well be new victims to the managerial merry-go-round currently going around the Championship, with Carlos Corberan very much in the running to become the next Leicester City manager, according to reports.
It would hurt, no doubt, if the Spaniard was to depart the Hawthorns this summer having overseen a relatively successful season this campaign just gone, getting the Baggies into the Championship play-off picture only to come unstuck against Southampton in the semi-final stages.
The West Midlands outfit were blown away by the eventual promotion winners at St. Mary's, losing 3-1 on aggregate with all of the strikes coming in an action-packed second leg, with Grady Diangana for the visitors struggling throughout to be the spark his team needed to upset the Saints.
The former West Ham United man could well have played his final ever Baggies game in that disappointing play-off exit, therefore, as rumours begin to mount that the Congolese international is being lined up for a surprise return to ex-employers.
Grady Diangana's future at West Brom
According to a report from Africa Foot, Julen Lopetegui's newly inherited side are keen on striking a deal with West Brom to re-sign their former youth star, who left for West Brom permanently in the summer of 2020 after a successful loan stint.
The Hammers would propose a price of £9.8m to try and win back the 5 foot 11 attacker's services, according to Africa Foot, with Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton and Hove Albion all interested too from the Premier League alongside interest from further afield in AS Roma and Lazio.
West Brom wouldn't stand in Diangana's way if he was keen on a move away, having disappointed those at the Baggies in recent seasons, after an electric loan stint initially excited those at the Hawthorns.
Diangana would pick up an impressive 15 goal contributions from 31 games during his first stint at the club, helping his loan side win promotion up to the Premier League in the process, triggering West Brom into spending a whopping £18m to keep him rooted in the West Midlands for the step-up.
Games played
30
Goals
8
Assists
6
Shots per game
1.6
Big chances missed
5
Big chances created
8
Described as being an "unbelievable" talent by fellow West Brom teammate Jed Wallace before a ball was kicked this season, his output could have been viewed as a little underwhelming when push came to shove, which might well see the exit door be swung open soon for the Congolese forward to leave.
Diangana's season in numbers
The £20.3k-per-week winger didn't set the world alight for his failed playoff side this campaign with the 26-year-old funnily matching those numbers put in from the 2019/20 season but from eight more games.
That doesn't tell the full tale of his season, however, with the ex-Hammers man failing to contribute to a goal finding the back of the net for his side from the last seven games, which included uninspiring performances being dished up in the play-offs when Corberan would have wanted his enigmatic attacker to shine.
Diangana would only last 64 minutes of the second leg before being hauled off the St. Mary's turf by his irritated manager, putting in a largely anonymous showing on the night with a meagre 27 touches managed and just one off-target shot registered, to close out an inconsistent and frustrating individual campaign.
With the Baggies showing a lot of confidence in homegrown gem Tom Fellows towards the latter stages of the season down the right wing, who has shades of Diangana's directness in his locker patrolling down the flanks with nine goal contributions tallied up from 39 games, the Congolese forward's settled spot in the starting XI could be no more even if he does stick it out at the Hawthorns amid the swirling transfer gossip.
This summer could be the perfect opportunity to start afresh and cut ties with the loyal Baggies servant, who has tallied up 167 appearances over five years now.
Still, there won't be any time for sentimentality when it comes to potentially selling him on, with Diangana's transfer value – according to Football Transfers – crashing significantly of late.
Diangana's transfer value in 2024
West Brom should snap off any suitor's hand wanting to bid in the region of £9.8m for their winger, with his value sitting at an extremely low £1.7m, according to Football Transfers, after failing to keep up the blistering form he started life with in the West Midlands.
That is some way off the extortionate £18m the Baggies paid to land him back in 2020, with the deal now viewed as somewhat of a misfire – even that £9.8m bid would represent a drop of just over £8m on his initial transfer fee.
The 26-year-old attacker's importance to the West Brom cause wanes when compared to Okay Yokuslu or Darnell Furlong, who have higher worths of £3.1m and £3m respectively and will be kept around for another potential promotion push next campaign.
Gaining £9m or so back for Diangana wouldn't be disastrous, however, as that would place him just inside the top five sales in West Brom's history still, and the money recouped would be far more than the lowly £1.7m estimate handed out by Football Transfers.
With his contract up next year as well, there might well be very real fears in the air that the Congolese forward could end up leaving for nothing further down the line, if West Brom don't attempt to offload the wideman sooner rather than later.
Player
Sale value
1. Salomon Rondon
£15.5m
2. Matheus Pereira
£15.3m
3. Saido Berahino
£11.8m
4. Nacer Chadli
£10.2m
5. Jay Rodriguez
£8.5m
After so much early promise and charm donning a West Brom kit during the infancy of his stay instantly endeared him to supporters, Diangana's exit would be somewhat bittersweet as he couldn't quite maintain this maverick entertainer label all across his mixed spell.
But, recouping some of the £18m they spent on him this summer is better than seeing him exit for zilch.
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