The Daily Mail reported today that one of West Ham's standouts so far this season, Senegal international Momo Diame, has a "trigger" clause built into his contract which would allow him to leave the club for another of his choice providing the buyer meets the "trigger" price. One doesn't need to elaborate too extensively to understand why this would be calamitous for the club and its ambitions were it to happen.
Perhaps only Kevin Nolan and Winston Reid can rival Diame in terms of utter consistency over the season thus far. His appearance at half time in Saturday's match with Chelsea altered the game dramatically and he smashed in a volley to give West Ham the lead. It's the kind of influence he's regularly exerted on any match he's been in this term.
We've been lacking a player to control the midfield ever since Scott Parker left for Tottenham at the beginning of last season. Certainly not a long stretch without that type of player but our season spent in the Championship certainly showed a lack of defensive steel in the middle of the park. Diame has turned that around completely, never afraid to get stuck in to win a ball. He also hasn't been afraid to take a foul when need be to break up a play.
It's not rare to seem him break up the play with a hard tackle and then pull off some wizardry when on the attack with the ball at his feet. His goal at Arsenal may be the best we've scored all season. He has a knack for showing up in the big games, a trait we've at times lacked in years past. It isn't hard to see why Kenny Dalglish was determined to bring him to Liverpool in the summer.
It's not very often you can get the kind of quality Diame exhibits on a free. It's even rarer we ever beat out a club like Liverpool for a players signature. Luckily for us Big Sam stepped in when the shuffle was going on at 'Pool and made what has to have been the best signing of our most successful transfer window ever. Now with Liverpool and Everton luring around like a pack of hungry dogs, waiting to snap up Diame come January, it's time to make an even bigger statement of the clubs ambitions.
It's just been the way business has been, and likely will continue to be, done that West Ham grooms young talent at the Tony Carr led academy and when they reach their peak the big clubs come and pick off the talent. That's, for better or worse, how things have to be in a league dominated by the money of American businessman, Russian oligarchs and a billionaire from Abu Dhabi.
But it would be a very big statement to keep Diame in January. To be clear, it's also not anywhere near confirmed he even has any interest in leaving. But Liverpool could certainly tempt Diame. If the two David's and Big Sam can convince Diame of the clubs vision and he sticks around that should be a big moment for any of the club supporters. Very few players nowadays have any interest in staying at a club with no ambition. Diame would certainly fit that mold.
If he stays it shows signs of a very positive future for the club. If he goes the club could very well sink back down to the depths we were at last season. Our opinion, for what it's worth? Momo won't be leaving in January. His celebration on Saturday against Chelsea said quite a bit about his enthusiasm for playing for the club. Gold and Sullivan have also shown that their much celebrated lifelong support of the club and love for it is not just press fluff pieces. They want the club to succeed and reach heights formally thought unfathomable.
The club turned a corner when they came on and a player like Momo Diame is the perfect personification of that. They can't let him go.
No comments:
Post a Comment