Grady finds passport to fame game
RISING star Grady Diangana is facing a familiar East End dilemma.
The sublime Declan Rice is already in a tug-of-war for his loyalty between England and Ireland and Diangana, 20, may also soon be forced to choose one passport ahead of another.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo but raised in London and schooled in West Ham’s academy since he was 12, Diangana’s verve and audacity illuminated this match.
He was denied a blatant penalty, set up £40million enigma Felipe Anderson’s second goal with an exquisite flick and gave the Clarets all the trouble they could handle. A call up for Congo or England? That puzzle can wait for another day.
But if Diangana’s two-goal West Ham debut in the Carabao Cup rout of Macclesfield was like taking sweets off kids at school, this was high-class confectionery.
Diangana, whose idol as a boy was Brazilian showman Ronaldinho, said: “I wouldn’t say my life has changed this season but I’m progressing and I feel like part of the team.
“I’ve always tried to beat players and entertain. The manager has been amazing with me and the staff keep giving me confidence to express myself.
“I’ve not thought about choosing countries – for now I just want to keep showing West Ham what I can do.”
The Hammers have recovered from their worrying start – four defeats in a row – and this was much more like the free-scoring football new manager
WEST HAM
Manuel Pellegrini was expected to import.
Pellegrini leaned heavily on Pablo Zabaleta, a warhorse from their Manchester City days, to get his message across.
Zabaleta said: “I knew the manager from my three years at City and he was never going to change his way of thinking – even after some bad results.
“He wants this style of play and we needed to believe in it. Here we showed the spirit, the character and the personality of the team.
“Grady is looking dangerous, especially when he’s one-on-one, because he doesn’t get scared. Like all young players we need to give him the confidence. I’m playing behind him and all the time I keep talking to him, even if he loses the ball: No worries, next time, keep going.
“We need to look after our young players because, like Declan Rice, it’s not just about two or three good games. I hope they become important players for this club.”
Burnley twice hauled themselves level against the run of play through Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Chris Wood, but they were lucky to get away with only the leaks inflicted by Anderson, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez.
It is 13 goals conceded in three games for the Clarets and for long periods they were disjointed.
Gudmundsson said: “We’re conceding too many, especially compared to last season. I’m not sure what the problem is.”