Even when he had only one Premier League outing under his belt, Jarrod Bowen knew that West Ham United had brought a special talent to English football.
Funnily enough, though, it was a night when he showcased a very different side of his game which convinced the Hammers to make their move.
West Ham United watched on in awe as El Hadji Malick Diouf shut down Bukayo Saka at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground stadium. Senegal becoming the first African nation ever to beat England in the process.
Now, Malick Diouf has actually been one of the better defenders in a claret-and-blue shirt this season. While Graham Potter has massive problems to solve in goal, at centre-half and in midfield, the full-back pairing of Kyle Walker-Peters and Diouf have held their own.
Especially the latter.
Diouf assisted Jarrod Bowen’s clever header as West Ham took on Crystal Palace last time out. In the process, he became the first full-back in any of Europe’s top-five leagues to reach three assists for 2025/26.
West Ham United statistically have Europe’s best attacking full-back in Malick Diouf
Even before the competitive action kicked off, that pinpoint delivery stood out a mile.
Hammers legend Tony Cottee was reminded of David Beckham when watching Diouf whip a series of devastating deliveries into the AFC Bournemouth penalty area during the pre-season tour of the United States.
And the former Slavia Prague star has wasted little time translating that pre-season promise onto the Premier League stage.
After producing a maiden assist against Chelsea – albeit Lucas Paqueta did most of the hard work with that thumping long-range drive – Diouf picked out Callum Wilson against Nottingham Forest and then Jarrod Bowen against Crystal Palace with the sort of fizzing cross which is already becoming his trademark.
Only a revitalised Jack Grealish – who West Ham will face during Monday’s trip to Everton – has more than Diouf’s three Premier League assists so far. That tally of three, from only five appearances, is more than any other full-back in La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A or the Bundesliga too.
When you consider that his rivals include the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Milos Kerkez, Jeremy Frimpong, Denzel Dumfries, Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi, this is an impressive statistic indeed.
Diouf threatens to emulate Jarrod Bowen, Paolo di Canio and Dimitri Payet
Only three West Ham players have reached double figures for assists in a top-flight season during the 21st Century. Paolo di Canio, Dimitri Payet and Jarrod Bowen. Diouf needs only seven from the next 33 matches to join that very exclusive club.
“[His crosses make Diouf] one of the best I’ve seen,” Bowen said in August.
“You know what, I had a little chat with him in training one time because he loves to bomb forward. I said, ‘Every time you get the ball out wide, do not turn back and play the ball to the centre-half. Just put the ball in the box’.
‘If I’m not there, you can shout at me. But if you don’t put the ball in, I am gonna shout at you!’
“For the two goals against Bournemouth, he crossed it to me. I kind of mis-hit [the first attempt] and played it to ‘Fulle’. And the second goal, again there was that space and he just put the ball in straight away.
“When you build that kind of relationship as a forward, you want the ball in the box as many times as possible. Defenders don’t want to defend inside the box.”
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