West Ham Could Repeat Lingard Trick By Signing £29k-p/w Star

West Ham United are reportedly the latest club to have registered an interest in taking Amad Diallo on loan from Manchester United next season following the youngster’s impressive campaign in the Championship.

Sunderland are understandably desperate to bring the 20-year-old back to the Stadium of Light, but The Northern Echo claims that Premier League clubs have taken notice of his form, with West Ham potentially leading the way.

Will Diallo make the breakthrough at Man Utd?

United splashed out an initial £19m to sign Diallo from Atalanta in 2021, with that fee potentially rising to £37m in add-ons should he succeed at Old Trafford.

The Ivory Coast international has been restricted to just three Premier League appearances for United thus far, however, having been sent out on loan to Rangers for the second half of 2021/22, and to Sunderland for the 2022/23 season.

Both loans can be considered a success, with Diallo registering three goals in ten Scottish Premiership appearances for Rangers and 14 in 39 for Sunderland in the Championship this season, finishing as the Black Cats’ top scorer as they narrowly missed out on promotion via the play-offs.

Diallo finished just outside the top ten in terms of the English second tier’s top scorers, but he ranked fifth for goal-creating actions with 20, which measures offensive actions – such as a pass or take-on – directly leading to a goal.

He also ranked joint-first alongside Coventry City’s Gustavo Hamer for non-dead-ball passes (16) that led directly to a goal, showing his ability to not only score but also create in the attacking third.

Despite his starring loan roles over the past 18 months, Diallo is expected to spend 2023/24 away from Old Trafford to further improve his all-round game, before potentially forcing his way into the first team the following season.

Can Diallo repeat Lingard success?

In the week he was released from Nottingham Forest after making next to no impact in his only season at the club, it is easy to forget just what an impact Lingard made at West Ham after making the trip from Manchester, a journey Diallo could repeat.

The England international outcast scored nine goals and assisted four more in 16 Premier League appearances in the second half of the 2020-21 season, prior to returning to United for an underwhelming final year and then heading for Forest.

Lingard was, of course, far more advanced in his career than Diallo currently is, but that is not to say the latter cannot grab the opportunity with both hands if West Ham does indeed win the race for his signature.

Described as a “special” talent by football reporter Josh Bunting, and “maybe just [Sunderland’s] best loan signing of all time”, the £29k-per-week winger has earned his chance to have a crack at the Premier League.

Even if he has half the impact of Lingard, whose career is now at a crossroads, West Ham will benefit massively next season from having a future £50m player in their ranks.