NATHAN HOLLAND
RISING star Grady Diangana is facing a familiar East End dilemma after his twinkling feet led Burnley a merry dance.
And it’s not whether to have pie and mash or cockles and winkles for dinner.
No sooner had Declan Rice landed in a tug-of-war between England and the Republic of Ireland than Diangana,
20, may soon be forced to choose one passport ahead of another.
Born in the Congo but raised in London and schooled in the Hammers academy since he was 12, Diangana’s verve and audacity illuminated enjoyable romp.
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.
International football for Congo or England? That puzzle can wait for another day.
But if Diangana’s two-goal West Ham debut in the Carabao Cup massacre of Macclesfield was like taking sweets off kids in the play- an ground, this was confectionery.
Diangana, whose boyhood idol was Ronaldinho, said: “I wouldn’t say my life has changed, but I’m progressing and feel 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 on the pitch.
“I have not thought about choosing between England or the Congo yet – for now I just want to represent West Ham.”
The Hammers have recovered from their worrying start – four defeats in a row – and this was more like the freescoring football new boss Manuel Pellegrini was expected to import.
Pellegrini relied heavily on Pablo Zabaleta, that old warhorse from their days at Manchester City, to
get high-class his message across and it looks like the penny is dropping.
Zabaleta said: “The manager was never going to change his way of thinking – even after a couple of bad results.
“He wants this style of football and we needed to believe in it. Here we showed the spirit, the character and the personality of the team.
“Grady looks very dangerous, especially one-on-one, because he doesn’t get scared. Like all youngsters, we need to make sure we give him confidence.
“I play 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 can become important players.”
Burnley twice hauled themselves level, through Johann Berg Gudmundsson and sub Chris Wood, but were lucky to get away with only the leaks inflicted by Anderson, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez.
Thirteen goals conceded in three games and the Clarets looked wretchedly disjointed.
Gudmundsson said: “I’m not too sure what the problem is, but we have to fix it.”