Two full-backs, two very different angles for Graham Potter to discuss as the West Ham United boss spoke to the media ahead of Monday’s trip to Premier League rivals Everton.
Centre-forward Callum Wilson and Niclas Fullkrug are back to full fitness, Crysencio Summerville is starting games again, and Luis Guilherme has made substitute appearances off the bench in the last two months after recovering from a broken collarbone.
So, with the exception of a suspended Tomas Soucek, West Ham United will have only one player unavailable for their first-ever visit to Everton’s shiny new Hill Dickinson Stadium home.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka missed that Crystal Palace defeat last weekend. Potter insists that the reigning West Ham United Player of the Year will be absent again on Merseyside.
And while El Hadji Malick Diouf continues to go from strength to strength on the opposite flank, Wan-Bissaka’s absence has sparked plenty of speculation about a rumoured fall-out with his under-fire head coach.
Graham Potter gives mixed Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Malick Diouf update for West Ham United
West Ham reported, via their official website, that Wan-Bissaka was ‘hoping’ to be back in time for that Everton clash.
Potter has now confirmed that the £15 million signing from Manchester United will not be in his squad on Monday evening, though he insists this is the result of those ongoing fitness issues rather.
Yet, with supporters growing increasingly sceptical, narrowing their eyes and glaring at Potter like Sargeant Doakes sizing up a sheepish Dexter, another game missed by Wan-Bissaka will only spark more social media speculation.
On his most recent appearance for the club, Wan-Bissaka was ‘terrible’ in a 5-1 loss to Chelsea. He was arguably at fault for three of those five goals.
“It will still be Aaron missing,” Potter says. “[He is] still struggling with his stomach problem. But, apart from that, everyone is available.”
This means Jean-Clair Todibo should be in the squad again. The £36 million Frenchman was nowhere to be seen when Tottenham Hotspur triumphed 3-0 over their London rivals a fortnight ago, though Todibo did return to the bench for the visit of Crystal Palace.
In more positive news, Potter spoke glowingly about the impact El Hadji Malick Diouf has made since that £19 million move from Slavia Prague two months ago.
Captain Jarrod Bowen called Diouf ‘one of the best’ crossers he has ever shared a pitch with, and that came before the latter set up the former in their most recent London Stadium outfit. With three assists in five Premier League matches, Diouf is statistically Europe’s most potent full-back right now.
No one has set up more goals than him from the full-back position so far in 2025/26.
“We are really happy with him,” admits Potter, delighted to discover that his suspicions surrounding Diouf have been proven correct. “We identified him early. Fortunately, we could sign him early so we could work with him [through pre-season].
“He’s got great enthusiasm. I thought the players would appreciate him because of the way he plays the game. He is really effective in those situations [when he can cross the ball].”
Jarrad Branthwaite and Merlin Rohl out for David Moyes’ Everton
From an Everton perspective, David Moyes is likely to start Michael Keane alongside James Tarkowski again with Monday’s game coming too soon for Jarrad Branthwaite.
Summer signing Merlin Rohl is also out, having played only 24 minutes since joining from Freiburg.
Interestingly, the rangy Rohl arrived after West Ham rejected Everton’s £15m Tomas Soucek bid in August.
“Jarrad is fine, but he’ll not be available for Monday. Neither is Merlin. They are both out,” says Moyes, who celebrated a late draw against his former employers West Ham in their most recent meeting back in March.
“At the moment, Jarrad is not back with the group. We are expecting him back shortly, but not quite yet. We’re disappointed that he re-injured himself and we’ve had to look after it. We’ll get him back, it’s just disappointing because he’s an important player for us.
“As it is, Michael Keane has played really well and filled in great, so it’s covered us a little bit.”
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