Though the Clearlake-era Chelsea have made a name for themselves as the Pied Piper of footballing wonderkids, West Ham United too have been busy in the youth recruitment market of late.
Dimitri Colau followed Mohamadou Kante from Paris to London on transfer deadline day. The former France Under-16 international walked the same path which took his another Paris FC graduate across the Channel a year previously.
West Ham lured Daniel Cummings from Celtic, too. Callum Leacock and Joel Kerr arrived from Northern Ireland within a few days of each other as well.
But any hopes that West Ham United had of adding one of the brightest up-and-coming talents in African football to their youth-team roster have suffered a blow. The Kwara Football Academy have informed SoccerNet that their much-admired Abduljelil Kamaldeen is indeed in talks regarding a move to the English Premier League.
Not with West Ham though, but their London neighbours Chelsea.
Chelsea lead West Ham United in race for Nigeria starlet Abduljelil Kamaldeen
According to The Sun, Chelsea have been keeping a very close eye on Kamaldeen’s progress for a while now.
Likened to Fulham schemer Alex Iwobi as well as Bolton Wanderers legend Jay-Jay Okocha, the silky 16-year-old only added to his burgeoning reputation during a standout performance against Norway’s Under-20s recently. Kamaldeen more than holding his own against a handful of players half-a-decade further on in their development.
In addition to Liverpool, Anderlecht and Royal Antwerp, All Nigeria Soccer reported at the beginning of October that West Ham had held ‘initial talks’.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s outfit were allegedly trailing behind some of their rival suitors even at that early stage, however. And, a fortnight later, it is Chelsea who appear to be in pole position.
“He’s back in Nigeria [but] Chelsea is in talks with his representative,” the Kwara Football Academy’s media officer says.
“News will unfold soon.”
El Hadji Malick Diouf has made the journey from Africa to the Premier League
Of course, there is a chance that Kamaldeen will never pull on the blue of Chelsea. At least, not in a competitive setting. BlueCo have dug their claws into French high-flyers Strasbourg, pursuing Champions League football with a host of Stamford Bridge loanees in their ranks.
If he was to hold out for a move to West Ham instead, one suspects that the pathway to first-team football would be a little clearer. Especially with Nuno in charge.
Nuno is determined to give youth a chance at West Ham. Callum Marshall was handed his Premier League debut at Arsenal, while Freddie Potts has already featured more than he did under Graham Potter.
Furthermore, in Mark Robson – who was promoted to Nuno’s first-team staff recently – Rush Green is home to one of the best developers of young talent in English football.
Diouf could fulfil his World Cup ‘dream’ with Senegal in 2026
While much is expected of Kamaldeen back home in Nigeria, El Hadji Malick Diouf is staking a claim to be the star of the next Senegal generation.
A Dakar-born left-back who started out at the Galaxy Football Academy in his West African homeland, Diouf secured his spot at the 2026 World Cup this week. Sadio Mane rolled back the years to inspire Senegal to a 4-0 victory over Mauritanie.
Diouf’s rapid rise, at the age of just 20, is proof of what can be achieved with a sensible and well-researched career path. He spent time in Scandinavia with Tromso – a la former Nordsjaelland whizzkid Mohammed Kudus – before honing his talents at Czech champions Slavia Prague and then joining a Hammers side with a gaping hole at left-back.
“I’m really young, and I know it’s a massive privilege to represent my country,” Diouf told the official West Ham website recently. “I love the Senegalese people! They are beautiful, and in the national team we have a lot of good players in every position.
“We have a lot of players on the left side that can play very well, and we are in the top 18 [in the FIFA World Rankings] right now. We are a good team and a very good nation.
“It would mean everything [to play at the World Cup]. This was the dream.
“We need this because we have a lot of players who have not played at the World Cup, and we’ve also got players who have also played at two, and this would be their third. So, I think we are all looking forward to hopefully securing qualification.”
