West Brom tipped to sanction exit of £18m star | OneFootball

The Baggies have been advised to part ways with Grady Diangana at the end of the season.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

West Brom will be focused on their promotion push back to the Premier League now Tony Mowbray has entered the hotseat at The Hawthorns.

After a four-week process of identifying Carlos Corberan’s successor, the 61-year-old was appointed to help lead the Baggies back to the big time.

Achieving promotion back in 2008, Mowbray will find the prospect with this current squad a whole different challenge, with the club not in possession of parachute payments and still in financial difficulty.

With a new boss at the helm, it provides an opportunity for all first team figures to have a fresh opportunity to break into the starting lineup.

One man who will be looking to impress is Grady Diangana, who faces a race against time to earn a new deal in B71, with his current one running down at the end of the season.

With his contract situation hanging in the balance, the Congolese international has been linked with a move away from the club in the summer, with European sides Parma and Celta Vigo keeping tabs on him, while Championship rivals Burnley are also registering an interest.

In light of recent speculation, Football League World’s West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess has offered his thoughts on what Albion’s next moves should be for the attacker.

Grady Diangana tipped to make West Brom exit

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess believes Grady Diangana will depart Albion at the end of the campaign, but hopes the 26-year-old can help contribute to a successful end to the term.

Burgess said: “I think at this point it’s unlikely Grady Diangana will remain a West Brom player next season, especially as he enters the last few months of his contract and with rumours starting to appear that teams are interested in signing him at the end of the season.

“I think it’s a shame, as he’s definitely a player who can make something out of nothing, which, of course, is something you want from an attacker at this level, someone who has some unpredictability of what direction they’re going to turn next.”

Burgess added: “While there has been some criticism of Diangana in recent years since his successful loan spell which forced Albion to spend so much money when Slaven Bilic was manager, you could argue at times some of it has been unjust when last season he had the most goals and assists in the squad, and while he has struggled this season with injuries, he did score an important goal against Stoke to get an equaliser last weekend.

“Hopefully, now he’s back to full fitness, he can have a few more months of productivity to give Albion the best chance of having a good season.”

Grady Diangana's departure is necessary for West Brom to push on

Despite Grady Diangana being a naturally gifted player, long spells of inconsistency and injury spells since joining West Brom permanently in an £18 million deal will leave supporters wondering whether Tony Mowbray can get the best out of him.

Electric in his loan spell at B71, the wideman failed to kick on, registering only six goals across the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns.

Despite netting seven goals and registering eight assists last term, Diangana once again has been unable to keep the tally going, scoring just twice from 19 Championship appearances, which isn’t a good enough output if Albion want to get promoted.

Largely cutting a frustrating figure for the Baggies faithful, the winding down of his contract seems the best opportunity for Albion to part ways with the 26-year-old, and the club could use these spare funds to recruit a younger and more promising winger next season, so Mowbray can develop their game and take them to the next level in a blue and white shirt.

If Albion wish to kick on with their project with controlling shareholder Shilen Patel, then they must ensure players like Diangana leave, as he has been one of numerous figures to be at the club for a long period of time while not producing many successful moments.