Sign Me: 'Incredible' £7m 'brute' admits his 'greatest wish' is to play for LFC

In April, West Ham star Mohamed Diame confirmed that he wants to move on this summer, and suggested that his name is still on LFC's transfer wish-list. A cruel twist of fate robbed the Senegalese star of transfer to Anfield in 2012, and the midfielder has once again expressed his regret over missing out on the move

When asked about his future in April, Diame told reporters:

"Liverpool? I can’t tell you if I will be a Liverpool player next season, but I think my name is still on their wanted list".

In 2012, Kenny Dalgish pinpointed Diame as a possible transfer target, but Liverpool's interest ended when the Reds terminated his contract. Clearly, this hurt Diame, as he explained in an interview this week. He recalled:

"In my head I was already in Liverpool. It was as if one of my greatest wishes - to wear the Liverpool shirt - had been accomplished. Dalglish said 'I can't guarantee you'll play every match but we have a lot of games to play'. Unfortunately, he was fired and negotiations stopped"

No wonder Diame is seemingly desperate to sign for Liverpool. It must be agonising to miss out on a potentially career-defining move, and he'll probably regret it for the rest of his life if he doesn't achieve that dream.

Ex-Reds Jamie Redknapp and John Aldridge are big fans of Diame. In a recent column for the Liverpool Echo , Aldo enthused:

"I would urge Liverpool to keep tabs on Mohamed Diame. He is a brute of a midfielder. A tremendous player and so strong and powerful in that central role, and he is exactly what the Reds need in there".

Soon after, Jamie Redknapp added:

"I like the look of Mohamed Diame at West Ham; he’s a cross between Patrick Vieira and Yaya Toure. Can West Ham keep him? He came on a free and has an agreed get-out clause. There will be lots of interest now".

Stan Collymore is not convinced, though, and in his column last week for The Mirror, he noted:

"Diame has incredible ability to burst past players, shoot and create chances. He should be scoring double figures. He can dominate, but he simply hasn't done it. Very disappointing".

Collymore's complaint seems a little unfair to me; it presupposes that Diame is an attacking midfielder, which he isn't. He's a central midfielder with defensive responsibilities, and his goals/assist return is only slightly lower than Hendo's.

Additionally, £7m-rated Diame has 4 goals/3 assists in 41 games for West Ham this season, and whilst that's not fantastic, it's 7 goals/assists more than Lucas, and six more than Joe Allen. Put him in a better team, with superior players, and he'll probably be an asset.

For £5m-£7m, I see no downside to Liverpool signing Diame, and in my view, he'd be infinitely better value for money than any of Rodgers others signings in the same price range.

Granted, it's hard to see him as anything more than a squad player, but based on Dalglish's comments above (about not playing every game), it seems that Diame is happy with that.

surveys

Author: Jaimie K