El Hadji Malick Diouf, who was reportedly a target for major English clubs, is set to join Brentford from West Ham. A verbal agreement has been reached between the clubs for the 21-year-old Senegalese international for a fee estimated at £35 million, excluding bonuses. The left-back, who joined West Ham in July 2025 and has a contract until 2030, performed well for West Ham last season despite their relegation and is said to be very interested in the move. The Senegalese international has 23 caps and one goal for his country. His current market value is estimated by Transfermarkt to be €28.00m. Recent reports in August 2026 suggested that Brentford had a bid of £40 million rejected. These reports also indicated West Ham's valuation at the time was reportedly £50 million. This followed a rejected opening offer from Brentford in July 2026 of around £15-£18 million. Former player Mohamed Adama Sarr stated that Diouf had several options. Sarr also suggested that a successful period at Brentford could lead to a future move to a top Premier League team such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, or City.