El Hadji Malick Diouf has indicated that he is already planning for life after West Ham United with the youngster keen on following in the footsteps of PSG’s superstar left-back Nuno Mendes.
Nuno Espirito Santo summed up West Ham United’s 20-year-old left-back perfectly before Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Burnley.
West Ham have a ‘diamond’ of a footballer in El Hadji Malick Diouf. But a diamond in need of a polish. Diouf has plenty of defensive rough edges, but that is to be expected of a player his age, and playing in a major European league for the first time.
In truth, when West Ham signed him in a £19 million deal from Slavia Prague, they would have known that Diouf could potentially spending his peak years far away from the London Stadium so long as he fulfils his genuinely elite-level potential.
El Hadji Malick Diouf celebrates during West Ham United v Newcastle United - Premier League
Photo by Harry Murphy – Danehouse/Getty Images
El Hadji Malick Diouf hints at future West Ham United exit
Speaking to Senegalese publication Wiw Sport, the youngster has now opened up on his ambitions to become a world-leading left-back for a world-leading club. A la Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League winning bullet train, Nuno Mendes.
“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. “It’s simply up to us to work to be strong there.
“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.”
Diouf is under contract at West Ham until the summer of 2030.