New West Ham signing El Hadji Malick Diouf could be a crucial weapon for Graham Potter this season. 

When we signed Malick Diouf from Slavia Prague, not many of us knew much about him, but after seeing him play in pre-season, we know exactly what he’s about.

Unsurprisingly, the 20-year-old the strongest defensively against Premier League quality players yet, but that should quickly improve. But one thing that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the fans is the wicked delivery he’s got on him.

He was only awarded one assist against Bournemouth after an excellent cross to Jarrod Bowen was expertly diverted in by the skipper. However, he was basically the reason for the first goal as another beautiful cross to Bowen at the back post led to him squaring the ball to Fullkrug, who fired home to give us the lead in Atlanta.

This is a quality that could really benefit the Hammers this season. One of our biggest problems in attack last season was the lack of styles and diversity. We were often trying to play through the middle and trying to pass through our opponents. While that can be good, we haven’t got the quality of player in midfield to solely do that and we still won’t next season due to the lack of signings.

We need some different ways of playing and Malick Diouf is going to be crucial for that because of his crossing. With his absolute demon of a cross, the opposition will have to be wary, if he’s left in space down the left wing with Fullkrug and Bowen in the box it could be damaging for the other team.

Because they have to be wary of his dangerous delivery from open play, it may also open up other parts of the pitch. Paqueta can take advantage of the spaces in midfield, while Wan-Bissaka and Bowen could have an even bigger impact down the right than they did last season.