Why Patience Is Needed With El Hadji Malick Diouf

In late August, Brentford rounded off their transfer window with the signing of El Hadji Malick Diouf from West Ham United for a rumoured fee of £35 million with a further £5 million in add ons. 

The signing was the third biggest in Brentford's history, beaten only by Mamadou Sangare from RC Lens and Dango Ouattara from AFC Bournemouth. 

Despite the fee, it was one being described at the time as a market opportunity rather than a signing made out of absolute necessity to strengthen at left back, with Brentford having already spent £70 million in the transfer window with no major sales prior to that point, and looking in rampant form throughout pre-season and their season opener with Tottenham Hotspur.

First choice left back Keane Lewis-Potter had started the season in fantastic fashion, scoring in the 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur just days before Diouf joined the club. 

In addition, Brentford also had Rico Henry and Aaron Hickey on their books along with highly rated youngster Jayden Meghoma, who has since joined Portsmouth on loan, as left back options. 

With the depth Brentford had in the left back position, the signing of Diouf, and specifically the fee paid for him, surprised many, and has led to high expectations of the Senegalese full back upon his arrival at the club from many fans. 

However, after a tricky night in Brentford's 3-2 defeat at Sunderland in the Carabao Cup, Diouf has faced criticism from a number of fans, having been dispossessed for Sunderland's first goal and beaten too easily defensively for the second., on an evening in which the Bees found themselves 3-0 down inside 39 minutes.

These were the first signs in a Brentford shirt from Diouf of the defensive frailties spoken about by West Ham fans back in the summer when he departed the club for the Bees, described very much by the majority of Hammers fans on social media as an excellent attacking full back, but one requiring significant improvement defensively.  

Whilst with the fee paid it is difficult to afford him too much slack, it is important to remember that Diouf is just 21 years old. Of the current Brentford squad, he is the second youngest player to feature for the club this season, older only than Jannik Schuster, who also joined the club last summer in a deal worth a rumoured £15 million from Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg.

When asked about the signing of Diouf at a pre-match press conference in August on the day Diouf had officially signed for the club, head coach Keith Andrews said: "He has attributes we really like. He fits what we are about, and he comes into an already competitive squad."

"His ceiling is really, really high. We feel there's huge growth and development in his game."

What is important to note here is the focus on the potential for growth and development in Diouf's game. 

As is often the case, Brentford rarely buy the finished article, instead looking to recruit young players with the ability to improve during the course of their time at the club. 

Diouf’s tally of five assists in the Premier League last season with West Ham was the second highest of any full back in the Premier League, and higher than that of any player in the Brentford squad, with Mikkel Damsgaard and Vitaly Janelt registering the team’s joint highest individual assist tally of four each. 

In his time at Slavia Prague prior to his one season in East London, the left back also registered nine goals in 50 appearances for the Czech club. 

Although his defensive ability has been called into question, there can little doubt about Diouf's ability to contribute positively going forward.

Even on a difficult night at Sunderland on Wednesday evening, Diouf still displayed encouraging signs with his work in the final third, making nine crosses and creating two big chances across the night, one of which being an excellent low ball across to Callum Wilson just yards out from goal, which really ought to have earnt him an assist. 

In Diouf, Brentford already have a young player on their hands with a superb delivery and a constant attacking threat down the left hand side. 

As has been emphasised by Keith Andrews, there is also huge ability left in his game to develop at his young age. 

Whilst nights such as the one at Sunderland are no doubt incredibly frustrating for supporters, specifically for those who would have made the effort of doing a 500 mile round trip to follow the club at the Stadium of Light, a 21-year-old just two months into his time at the club should be afforded a degree of patience before the fanbase begins to write him off as a bad signing. 

With the exceptional form of Keane Lewis-Potter at left back there is currently no rush for Diouf to suddenly become the answer for the Bees defensively.

As Brentford have done so often with new signings, there will be time afforded for their new man to put in the yard yards on the training pitch and work closely with the coaching staff to refine key defensive parts of his game and ensure that when the right time comes he can prove himself to be an important asset to the squad and another successful piece of business from the club.

As always, there are no guarantees in football, and the success of El Hadji Malick Diouf at Brentford Football Club is of course not guaranteed, but if there is one thing to be certain of, it is that the club will not let his time here be defined by one sub-par performance in the Carabao Cup...