West Ham may need to fight to keep hold of their top scout after El Hadji Malick Diouf was named on a prestigious Premier League list.
Ahead of the January window, West Ham confirmed who was calling the shots on recruitment.
The Hammers made it clear Nuno Espirito Santo was in charge of transfers but that the ‘scouting department is too’.
Much of West Ham’s recruitment over the last couple of years has been abysmal, especially under Tim Steidten and Julen Lopetegui.
West Ham may face fight to keep top scout Max Hahn
But things have improved drastically with the growing influence of top West Ham scout Max Hahn.
Those who followed the comings and goings behind the scenes at the London Stadium in recent years will know that Hahn was brought to West Ham by Steidten two years ago, in February 2024.
How far can Malick Diouf go? And what does he need to do to become a world-class left-back?
West Ham United's El Hadji Malick Diouf during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Aston Villa at London Stadium on December 14, 2025 in London, England.
Talent identifier Hahn joined the Hammers as Head of Technical Recruitment and Analysis.
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The scout is active on social media, often dropping big clues about his influence on transfers when he reposts West Ham’s announcements of certain signings.
Top West Ham scout Maximilian Hahn when at Darmstadt 98
Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images
The highly-rated recruitment specialist has impressed so much internally that West Ham retained him after Steidten was sacked heading into the winter window last year.
That has not gone unnoticed elsewhere with several German clubs, including Schalke, looking at Hahn for a Sporting Director role while Championship clubs Southampton and Blackburn Rovers have also been credited with an interest in the past.
Now the top West Ham scout’s stock has risen even further as El Hadji Malick Diouf is named on a prestigious Premier League list.
Hahn played a key role in the identification of Senegal left-back Diouf and Soungoutou Magassa in the summer while he also pushed hard for the signing of brilliant midfielder Mateus Fernandes.
Hahn capture Diouf named in Premier League’s top 20 signings
Now the Hammers’ talent spotter has a big feather in his cap after The Telegraph named Diouf among the best 20 Premier League signings of the season.
Fernandes is on course to be West Ham’s Hammer of the Year with his superb performances breathing life into the club’s bid for survival.
Finish this sentence: Axel Disasi is West Ham’s BEST DEFENDER since…
West Ham United's Axel Disasi during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium on February 10, 2026 in London, United Kingdom. Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at City Ground on February 22, 2026 in Nottingham, England.
But the cool £40m the Hammers paid appears to have ruled him out of the equation for The Telegraph’s list.
The one West Ham ace who has made it on, though, is £19m signing Diouf.
Telegraph journalist Mike McGrath selected Bryan Mbeumo as the best signing of the season and Granit Xhaka second.
Malick Diouf playing for West Ham against Burnley.
Photo by Kate McShane/Getty Images
Diouf is named at number 16 with his dynamism and assists – two factors Hahn identified when pushing for West Ham to sign him from Slavia Prague – highlighted as key reasons behind his success.
“West Ham have struggled this season, but in Diouf, they landed a player who fits into Premier League football with his dynamic performances from left wing-back,” McGrath writes in The Telegraph.
“Crystal Palace wanted him previously when he was at Slavia Prague but it was West Ham who landed him in a £19m move, which means he will make them a healthy profit should he move on.
No Premier League defender has more assists than West Ham’s Diouf
“Numbers to back his claim: No defender has recorded more assists in the Premier League this season than Diouf (4). Three of Diouf’s four Premier League assists this season have come via crosses. Only Bruno Fernandes (6) has more in 2025-26.”
Diouf has high aspirations, revealing just weeks into his West Ham career that he wants to use the move as a stepping stone to play for a top European club.
Those comments did not go down too well with many Hammers fans at the time.
But the 20-year-old has proved he has the ability to achieve that goal in time, even if some of his defending needs work at times.
Whether West Ham are relegated or not they won’t just face a fight to keep hold of Diouf but Hahn too.
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