Journalist Luke Hatfield was delighted to see Valerien Ismael and Grady Diangana share a heartwarming moment after West Brom's 4-0 win at Cardiff on Tuesday night.
What happened after West Brom's game against Cardiff?
West Brom entered the game in the Welsh capital on the crest of a wave after picking up a late win against QPR the previous Friday.
They continued their momentum by swatting aside Mick McCarthy's men thanks to strikes from Karlan Grant, Alex Mowatt, Matt Phillips and a Curtis Nelson own goal.
After a slow start to the season, Diangana picked up his first assist of the campaign, as he set up Phillips' goal to round off proceedings. Baggies boss Ismael was clearly pleased that the 23-year-old had managed to contribute to a thumping victory, and gave the winger a big hug after the match as West Brom moved back to the top of the table.
What did Hatfield make of the incident between Ismael and Diangana?
Hatfield believes that Ismael's actions show that he has a lot of faith in Diangana, whereas previous manager Sam Allardyce did not appear to rate the forward who joined from West Ham last September for £12.2m.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Hatfield said: “It’s brilliant to see, especially with Diangana who last season struggled, and you didn’t really see too much of him under Big Sam. And you could tell that maybe Big Sam didn’t fancy him but it’s clearly not the case with Ismael.
“Ismael’s fully backing Diangana. He knows he’s one of the most talented forward players at the club, and he’s done it at this level before, so it’s fantastic to see that. His confidence is growing, I think, with Diangana and it’s only a matter of time before we see him bulging the back of the net as well.”
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Can Diangana kick on now?
As Hatfield mentioned, Diangana had some difficult periods in his maiden campaign at the Hawthorns last term, as he netted just once in his 20 top-flight appearances, and he was far from a guaranteed starter under Allardyce.
He has hardly been in sparkling form this season either, but the difference is that he now seems to have a manager who trusts him to deliver the goods in the end.
Diangana offered a glimpse of what he can do against Cardiff, and now he will look to build on that performance when West Brom travel to Stoke tonight. Another strong display there could prove a few more doubters wrong, and highlight how Ismael has been absolutely right to stick with the youngster in recent weeks.