Nuno Espirito Santo’s system at West Ham can truly supercharge Graham Potter signing
West Ham United fought back from a goal down to secure a 1-1 draw away at Everton on Monday Night Football.
Nuno Espirito Santo dropped James Ward-Prowse from his first matchday squad ahead of West Ham’s meeting with Everton.
Everton drew 1-1 with West Ham, but the hosts took the lead through a well-directed header from Michael Keane, before Jarrod Bowen equalised in the second half.
It was West Ham’s first game under Nuno’s leadership, and the signs were there to see that the Portuguese head coach would be a positive appointment.
Nuno Espirito Santo unlocks secret weapon in El Hadji Malick Diouf
Espirito Santo will have a big impact on West Ham’s squad, with players like Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville and Kyle Walker-Peters all set to benefit from the 51-year-old’s arrival.
One player in particular who looks set to benefit is left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf, who signed for West Ham in the summer for £19 million from Slavia Prague.
Diouf made a promising start to his West Ham career under Graham Potter, but was utilised as a wing-back in a 3-4-3 system under his former boss.
Nuno’s compact 4-3-3 shape will better suit Diouf, who is naturally a flying full-back, with the Senegalese international best suited to springing forwards on counterattacks into wide areas of space.
Diouf will be robust in challenges for Espirito Santo’s side, and his long stride helps the 20-year-old stretch away from opposition pursuers.
El Hadji Malick Diouf can be Nuno Espirito Santo’s new Ola Aina at West Ham United
During his successful 2024-25 campaign at Nottingham Forest, Nuno was able to deploy some great counter-attacking talents.
West Ham don’t possess many like-for-like talents, but one comparison that can be made is Diouf and Ola Aina.
Aina was, like Diouf, a defence-first full-back who was hard to beat on the outside and could get the team up the pitch on quick counterattacks.
Diouf’s defensive numbers are skewed by Potter’s porous system, but the creative numbers between the pair are remarkably similar.
While Espirito Santo may have to adjust to a quality drop-off between West Ham’s centre-back options and Forest’s, he’s able to deploy a ready-made replacement for Aina at left-back.