There weren’t many West Ham United fans who knew too much about El Hadji Malick Diouf before he arrived in the summer.
As reported at the time by ExWHUEmployee, it was during West Ham’s scouting of his international team-mate Habib Diarra that Diouf first came onto the club’s radar.
What became immediately apparent in pre-season, however, was that whilst Malik showed some defensive naivety, he was an outstanding crosser of the ball.
That ability was on full display at the start of the campaign. The wing-back-turned-full-back racked up three early assists, getting many of us excited that West Ham might just have landed one of the league’s most dangerous attacking defenders.
The player even spoke openly about one day representing Real Madrid — and at just 20 years old, it certainly felt like he had a bright future ahead of him.
Unfortunately, much like the rest of his teammates, Diouf’s form dipped dramatically.
By December, when he departed to link up with Senegal for the Africa Cup of Nations, he was struggling badly. The assists had dried up and Malik was offering neither defensive solidity nor attacking threat to Nuno Espírito Santo’s side.
Burnley Display Shows What West Ham Have Been Missing
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He was replaced in the back line by Ollie Scales, who — aside from an error against Fulham FC — performed admirably.
I was certainly among those who would have kept Scales in the starting XI for the game against Chelsea. In fact, once Malik was substituted in that match and Scales replaced him, I felt the Hammers’ back line looked more solid.
What I was guilty of forgetting, though, was exactly what Diouf offers going forward.
We saw that in full during [Saturday’s win over Burnley](https://www.claretandhugh.info/burnley-0-2-west-ham-united-the-morning-after/), where he created a goal with one of his trademark crosses.
The build-up was excellent and should give hope that West Ham’s reinvigorated tactics will allow Diouf to get into more advanced positions. What was particularly telling was that the assist came from deep — proof he doesn’t always need to beat his marker to deliver something dangerous.
It was a timely reminder of what Diouf can bring, and of the player many thought West Ham were getting when he arrived for £19 million in the summer.
Long may it continue.