West Ham star’s ‘incredible’ progress leaves his former coach absolutely stunned

Add as preferred source on Google

The speed of one West Ham United star’s ascent – from relative obscurity to one of the breakout stars of the entire Premier League – has taken even his former coach by surprise.

And it appears that West Ham United will not be the last stop on his journey towards stardom.

At least, that is the plan.

Malick Diouf is living the ‘dream’ at the London Stadium. This week, though, a man who joined the Hammers in a £19 million deal from Slavia Prague in July shed light on his plan to make the leap to another level.

Diouf wants to play for a Barcelona, a Real Madrid, a Bayern Munich, a Paris Saint-Germain. A ‘top club, among the best five in the world’, as he puts it.

And while the West Ham supporters have been quick to warn Diouf that he still has a lot of learning to do first – the Senegal international may be a fabulous crosser of the ball but his defending often leaves a lot to be desired – who would bet against him achieving those ambitions, given how rapid his rise has been up to this point already?

Salif Diao, the one-time Liverpool midfielder, coached El Hadji Malick Diouf back home in Senegal. It appears he did not expect the Galaxy Football Academy graduate to be tearing up English football only three years later.

Salif Diao loves watching El Hadji Malick Diouf at West Ham United

Diouf moved to Europe in late-2023. Like many other young African talents – see one-time Nordsjaelland starlet Mohammed Kudus, for instance – the Dakar-born flyer was given his break in Scandinavian football.

Diouf played only 21 games for Norwegian outfit Tromso before heading off to the Czech Republic. Liverpool and Chelsea took note of the youngster as his thrusting runs helped Slavia Prague secure the domestic title, but it was West Ham who took the plunge.

Much to Diao’s delight.

“The Premier League is the best league in the world,” says Diao, who played a century of games in the competition for Liverpool, Portsmouth, Birmingham City and Stoke. “And it’s where the best players in the world should go to test themselves against their opponents.

“The fact that there are so many Senegalese players in the Premier League is fantastic.

“Knowing the story of one of them, El Hadji Malick Diouf, particularly well is incredible. He was in my academy three years ago and he now plays for West Ham, in the Premier League.

“It’s incredible.”

Diouf wants to play at an elite club as he looks up to PSG’s Nuno Mendes

Diao was speaking to the official Arsenal website. The Emirates Stadium will play host to Senegal this weekend as Diouf and co take on Lucas Paqueta’s Brazil side in a friendly in North London.

Paqueta opened up on his failed Manchester City transfer on Thursday. Diouf, still only 20 years of age, has a long way to go before he can realistically be considered for a mega-money switch to one of the Champions League’s big-hitters.

Though if that day does come at some point down the line, West Ham will surely bank themselves an almighty profit.

“I saw Nuno Mendes say that, two years ago, he wasn’t yet at his best defensively. But look at him today, he’s strong. I think he’s also an example,” Diouf says, the progress of Paris Saint-Germain’s superstar left-back a source of inspiration.

“Ideally, I see myself in a top club, among the five best in the world. I think I have the potential to get there through hard work. And I hope, God willing, to achieve that. I have only been in the professional world for two years, so I remain patient.”

Nuno thinks West Ham have a huge talent on their hands

Nuno Espirito Santo describes Diouf as a ‘diamond’. Albeit an unpolished one. He remains joint-second in the Premier League assist charts with three, though the weaknesses in his game have been exposed of late against the likes of Arsenal and Burnley.

“First of all, he is a beautiful boy,” Nuno said recently. “He is someone really special. He’s so sensitive. I think this has to do with [his journey], the way he arrived here. I think he is living a dream. He is playing in the Premier League and he enjoys it so much.

“[Diouf has] a lot of things to improve, a lot of talent. Physically, [he is] something really special. But it’s like a diamond that you have to polish.