For the first time since he joined West Bromwich Albion from West Ham United on 12 months ago, Grady Diangana produced a performance befitting an £18 million forward during Tuesday night’s 0-0 draw with Derby County.
It was a display full of energy, confidence, craft and guile from a man who, since sending West Ham supporters into meltdown and incurring the wrath of a furious Mark Noble, has looked a shadow of the winger who took Championship defences apart during a promotion-winning 2019/20 loan spell at The Hawthorns.
The question is, can Diangana build on his finest performance in some 18 months?
Is this the start of something special or merely a flash-in-the-pan from a man who has notched just one goal and no assists in his last 27 league games?
Only time will tell, of course.
Is Grady Diangana back to his best for West Brom?
With West Brom’s early-season form hitting the buffers following successive draws, Diangana’s sudden return to form could hardly have come at a better time.
Valerien Ismael’s side have scored just twice in their last three matches and the West Ham academy graduate – a player capable of producing something out of nothing with a piece of mind-bending brilliance that would not look out of place on a Ronaldinho show-reel – could prove to be the difference between one point and three; between automatic promotion and a play-off place.
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