It goes without saying that if West Bromwich Albion have any chance of getting Mikey Johnston back this summer on a permanent deal, they will go all out guns blazing in a bid to win his coveted signature.
The £6m-rated man took the Championship by storm for just half a season when joining from Glasgow giants Celtic in January, making the Baggies a terrifying prospect to contain for many second-tier defences, whilst other attackers in the side struggled to be as tricky donning a West Brom strip.
It arguably shone a light on how many underperformers there are up top for Carlos Corberan's men, who had been content with putting in largely sub-par performances before Johnston's eye-opening arrival, with Grady Diangana very much a guilty culprit in this regard.
Once purchased for a bumper £18m after being let go of by West Ham United, the Congolese attacker was the bright spark the Baggies were longing for once upon a time, before fading away into the background as of late, compared to exploits of the Bhoys loanee.
Diangana's situation at West Brom
Once described as being an attacker who can make "defenders dizzy" by football journalist Dean Jones, Diangana, unfortunately, in the here and how is a forward player for the Baggies who blows hot and cold far too often.
The 26-year-old struggling to grab the bull by the horns in the Championship play-offs would have irritated those with West Brom connections watching on, especially in the second leg of the semi-finals away at Southampton, where the out-of-sorts forward would only amass 27 touches of the ball.
He ended up being hauled off in the second half by Corberan as the West Midlands outfit bowed out of the knockout format as 3-1 losers, as the likes of the ex-Hammers man – alongside fellow goal-shy attacking teammate Brandon Thomas-Asante – failed to ever spark into life.
This could trigger West Brom into offloading their inconsistent attacker soon, who is attracting interest from his former club no less according to a report by Africa Foot last month, alongside further interest coming from Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers in England.
Once stunning supporters at the Hawthorns with regular sublime strikes like the one above, Diangana's goal contributions last season sitting at 15 from 38 games felt somewhat underwhelming, especially when you consider only six of those came in 2024.
Johnston, on the other hand, was rather marvellous.
Johnston's time at West Brom
Entering the building at West Brom at the turn of the year and becoming an instant fan's favourite with electric attacking displays, the winger amassed nine goal contributions of his own from just 20 games.
Games played
20
Goals scored
7
Assists
2
Scoring frequency
168 mins
Shots*
1.3
Big chances created
4
Successful dribbles*
2.2
Setting the league alight by scoring every 168 minutes for his new loan side in the regular season as a full-throttle forward player, Diangana exiting this summer could free up space on the wage bill for the Baggies to go back in for Johnston, alongside adding more to the transfer kitty, to try win back the Republic of Ireland international for his hefty £6m price-tag.
Constantly a thorn in the side of the defences that had to be alert to his tricky feet in the second tier, West Brom supporters everywhere would be in dreamland if Johnston was to return, even if that did result in Diangana exiting.
Described by Corberan himself as being "special" last season, the 25-year-old could be an even more petrifying prospect for Championship defences next campaign when unleashed over a full 46-game schedule, as opposed to just experiencing the latter half of the season.
Progressive passes
4.44
3.34
Progressive carries
3.22
5.13
Successful take-ons
2.18
3.03
Touches in attacking penalty area
3.03
3.03
Progressive passes received
5.51
7.07
Looking at their head-to-head numbers as progressive players trying to drive the Baggies forward, as per FBRef, Johnston just about edges his Congolese counterpart, alongside amassing stronger numbers in terms of both their outputs recently, over Diangana who looked bereft of confidence in the play-off clash at St. Mary's.
The West Brom number 11's high wage will also be another sticking point as to why Corberan and Co might not be completely against the idea of parting ways, with the 5 foot 11 attacking midfielder banking £20.3k-per-week last season for his employers, as per Capology.
West Brom's wage bill in 2023/24
Away from Johnston's price-tag potentially denting the Baggies bank account, with West Brom chairman Shilen Patel stating that the club will have to be "resourceful" this summer, his wage is significantly lower than that of Diangana's.
The current Celtic man earns just £10k-per-week in contrast, with the ex-West Ham attacker earning double Johnston's salary as a result.
At this moment in time, Diangana's pay-packet actually puts him quite near the top of the highest earners at the Hawthorns, with many scratching their heads at the likes of Daryl Dike earning £32k-per-week meaning he is the club's top earner, despite regularly being in the treatment room.
Allowing many of those who had been on healthy salary to leave this summer already, with Adam Reach's exit revealed recently on the club's retained list after the experienced figure had been pocketing an extortionate £40k-per-week last campaign, there could be an argument that Diangana might well follow suit out of the door.
It would be a dour note to end on for the 26-year-old, who was beloved when first joining as a dynamic maverick who got supporters out of their seats frequently, but if West Brom can gain a similar style player with Johnston re-joining, the shock of a long-standing servant leaving won't be as hard to take.
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