Romano Gives Diouf ‘Here We Go’ as West Ham Agree £40m Sale

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)

West Ham have agreed to sell El Hadji Malick Diouf to Brentford in a package worth up to £40million, leaving Nuno Espírito Santo with an immediate problem at left-back.

Fabrizio Romano has given the transfer his customary “here we go”, reporting that the two clubs have reached a verbal agreement worth £35million guaranteed plus add-ons.

The documents are still to be signed, but the deal is agreed in principle and Diouf is understood to be keen on Brentford’s project.

For West Ham, it brings a summer-long transfer saga towards its conclusion and appears to confirm what Claret & Hugh were told only yesterday: Diouf had no intention of playing Championship football.

Diouf Gets The Premier League Move He Wanted

As Claret & Hugh revealed yesterday, there was little prospect of Diouf remaining at the London Stadium once the transfer window closed.

When we asked our leading transfer source about the Senegal international, the answer couldn’t have been much clearer:

“Diouf will not play in the Championship. He wants to leave.”

The writing had already been on the wall.

Diouf was left out of the squad for the Charlton defeat and was again absent from last night’s excellent 4-1 Carabao Cup victory at Southampton.

The situation had become increasingly clear despite Brentford appearing to cool their interest earlier in the window.

Personally, I thought Diouf had the potential to be one of the best attacking full-backs in the Championship this season.

I didn’t think he was brilliant for West Ham last year, but there was clearly plenty of talent and significant room for improvement.

Ultimately, though, none of that matters if the player simply doesn’t want to be here.

Excellent Business But A Big Blow For Nuno

From a purely financial perspective, this looks like excellent business.

West Ham signed Diouf from Slavia Prague for around £20million last summer and are now set to receive a package which could be worth twice that amount just 12 months later.

It’s also considerably closer to the £50million valuation West Ham placed on Diouf when Sunderland entered the race earlier this month.

But there is another side to this transfer, and it’s now a pressing one.

As Claret & Hugh revealed earlier this summer, Nuno Espírito Santo was determined to keep Diouf.

We were informed by an agent involved in numerous West Ham transfers that Nuno had been offered potential left-back options but wasn’t interested because he expected Diouf to remain.

“I don’t think Nuno is looking for a left-back. He wants to keep Diouf.”

That confidence has now proved misplaced.

I’ve previously expressed my concern about West Ham selling Diouf without having his replacement lined up, and that is now the immediate issue facing Nils Koppen.

West Ham have made an excellent profit, but Nuno has lost a player he expected to be an important part of his promotion campaign.

Now Koppen has to make sure some of that money is reinvested quickly.

Selling a player who doesn’t want to be here makes perfect sense.

Failing to adequately replace him wouldn’t.