Exclusive: Burnley FC touted to eye West Brom transfer move | OneFootball

David Prutton has been speaking about the future of Grady Diangana

Sky Sports pundit David Prutton believes that Burnley could be an ideal club for Grady Diangana to ply his trade at, with the winger still out-of-contract at West Bromwich Albion as things stand.

The DR Congo international has become part of the furniture at The Hawthorns, having lasted a period of six permanent managers in the West Midlands after initially joining on loan from West Ham United under former Hammers boss, Slaven Bilic, before signing for a hefty £18m sum in August 2020 from the East London side.

Since then, Diangana has endured mixed fortunes under an array of managers, with last season proving his most productive since the aforementioned permanent deal was struck, as his tally of seven goals and eight assists in 36 appearances saw the Baggies reach the Championship play-off semi-finals, where they would come unstuck against eventual promotion winners, Southampton.

So far this season, the 26-year-old has seen himself in and out of the starting lineup as a result of a calf issue which was sustained in November, although six of his 11 starts have come since Tony Mowbray was appointed for a second stint in the dugout as he eventually replaced current Valencia boss, Carlos Corberan.

It has recently been reported that the Albion hierarchy have penned in fresh talks with the wide man, who Prutton believes can still reach top-flight potential.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, the former Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder believes that a full-throttle Diangana could be a useful chink in the armour for a side such as Burnley, who, according to transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, saw a contract offer turned down by the Albion attacker amid interest from Parma and Celta Vigo.

"Grady Diangana on a free? "Yes, I do think there will be clubs very much together in the hunt for him," Prutton began.

"I think the Grady Diangana that we saw help get West Brom promoted, it would be fair to say that, for a couple of seasons now, he's not quite been at that level," he added.

"I still think, for a player that is 26, there's still plenty of top-level gas left in the tank," the 43-year-old added.

"So, whether that is a Burnley looking at a player such as that, who have a little penchant, don't they, for wide players drifting in from those positions and finding themselves in a '10' where they can cause problems, and he's definitely going to be on a lot of people's lists to be the one that unlocks defences."

"Whether that's at the top end of the Championship, whether that's abroad, whether that's a team in Burnley who are potentially going to go up and want to bolster their ranks with a player such as that, remains to be seen," Prutton continued.

"But, I think, a Grady Diangana that's hungry, at it and with a real thirst for getting back to those levels on a free is a no-brainer for basically every top-six Championship club and those in the bottom half of the Premier League."

The pundit concluded: "We saw when he moved on from West Ham, there was an outcry that a player of that ability had been let go."

Burnley may have to achieve promotion to entice Grady Diangana to Turf Moor

As Prutton alluded to, on his day, Diangana is one of the most dynamic wingers in the Championship, and despite his inconsistencies, it speaks volumes about his current standing and potential that Burnley were looking to acquire his signature in January.

The West Ham man, who was very highly rated by Mark Noble amid the former Hammers captain's outburst after a permanent move to B71 was sanctioned, showcased that full potential against Portsmouth at the end of January, putting in a top performance as two goals and two assists helped see off the South Coast side by a 5-1 scoreline.

However, with Serie A and La Liga sides previously interested in his signature alongside the Clarets, it may be the case that Scott Parker's only way of enticing Diangana to East Lancashire is to achieve promotion if Albion are unsuccessful in tying down the winger to fresh terms in the coming weeks.