The West Ham United faithful have been starved of even the tiniest morsels of transfer market activity of late, so no wonder many supporters are ready to sink their teeth into Slavia Prague left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf.
The Hammers have enjoyed some pretty memorable successes during their previous raids of the Czech giants, after all.
On the day when Vladimir Coufal’s officially left the London Stadium as a free agent, West Ham United came knocking on Slavia Prague’s door with a £17 million bid.
Fabrizio Romano reports that West Ham’s opening offer has been rejected. The Guardian, however, insist that the gap between their first offer and the sort of fee Slavia are holding out for is hardly a considerable one.
The club who sold Coufal and Tomas Soucek to the Hammers for a combined fee in the region of £20 million reportedly want a similar sum for El Hadji Malick Diouf.
Surely even West Ham cannot miss out on one of their leading transfer targets – Graham Potter is reportedly a big fan – thanks to a difference of just £3 million or so…
And if the swashbuckling Diouf comes close to emulating Soucek’s impact, in particular, that will come to feel like £20 million spent extremely well indeed.
West Ham United fans want El Hadji Malick Diouf signed
Well, a long-suffering fanbase can be forgiven for assuming the worst, predicting a collapse in negotiations over a very bridgeable £3 million gap.
Yet, after going through the whole of June with barely a hint of a big-money, permanent signing, at least bids are starting to be made.
“I like the stats on this lad,” one fan responded after news of that Diouf offer emerged. “Plus we’ve had some proper ones from that club…”
If West Ham are serious about ‘reinventing’ Graham Potter’s squad, and driving down the average age in the process, the 20-year-old Senegal international would be an extremely fitting first signing of the summer window.
This is the sort of signing Potter’s old employers Brighton and Hove Albion frequently made. The sort of signing West Ham have shied away from far too often.
If prioritising experienced footballers ‘proven’ at the top level was viewed at the London Stadium as a somewhat low-risk, then the struggles of Niclas Fullkrug, Edson Alvarez, Carlos Soler and Guido Rodriguez highlight the flawed nature of such an approach
Slavia Prague and Senegal star could replace Emerson Palmieri
Diouf, a highly-athletic, very modern sort of left-back, scored seven goals and provided four assists for Slavia Prague last season. He is ten years Emerson Palmieri’s junior.
And, as Senegal stunned Thomas Tuchel’s England with a 3-1 win in Nottingham last month, a fine defensive display up against Bukayo Saka provided perhaps the best indication yet regarding his suitability to English football.
Slavia coach Jindrich Trpisovsky, while labelling Diouf an ‘exceptional player’, admits that he has clearly outgrown the relatively small pond that is Czech football.
“In terms of a ‘West Ham type of player’, Malick Diouf ticks every single box and has unlimited potential,” one fan argues. “He would easily lock up that left-wing-back position for years to come with [Ollie] Scarles.”
Emerson is expected to leave West Ham this summer. Should they recoup much of the fee they paid Chelsea back in 2023, that would serve to cover much of Slavia Prague’s demands.
“Technically, we’ll only be paying £10 million for him if we can sell Emerson for £15 million,” another fan points out.
“Diouf looks a quality player. Need to pay the extra £5 million and try to get that deal done
“That comp of Diouf vs England has me desperate for us to go back in!”
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