Mark Noble makes Grady Diangana admission after West Brom transfer

Mark Noble has revealed that Grady Diangana wanted to remain at West Ham United at the time when he left for West Brom on a permanent basis.

Albion supporters are still waiting for winger Diangana to really, truly, ignite again in the way that he did prior to the injury that he suffered in his loan season. For 18 months or more, his influence has waned and the number of memorable performances since you can perhaps count on one hand.

That’s so far removed from what was expected and hoped for after Diangana set the Championship alight with goals, assists and excitement on the flank in Slaven Bilic’s 4-2-3-1 set up.

There was a flurry of important goals from Diangana in Project Restart and the club’s decision makers felt it the right course of action to pursue a permanent deal for him - an agreement they were enthusiastic about sealing after it became clear West Ham would sell at the right price.

It’s believed that an initial transfer worth £12million was the arrangement. It delighted Albion fans at the time, and it enraged many Irons supporters, including club captain Noble himself who took to social media along with midfielder Jack Wilshere.

Now, Noble himself has claimed that Diangana himself had hoped to make the breakthrough at West Ham, using his Albion loan as a springboard.

“We’d gone through a tough season and we’d just survived. Football is a business, I know that better than anyone. Sometimes you’ve got to make decisions, when you own a football club, that helps the club,” Noble said, in an interview with Vibe with FIVE, which you can watch by clicking here.

“We’d stayed up in the Premier League when Moyesey (David Moyes) came back (in 2020). I had a great feeling in pre-season. I actually thought ‘do