BBC Sport reported on 26 August 2026 that Brentford had signed El Hadji Malick Diouf from West Ham on a five-year contract, with a club option for an additional year. It described an initial payment of £35m and a further £5m in add-ons. Those are the BBC’s reported terms, not a fee schedule published here by either club.
The Standard’s earlier report that day, while a medical was being arranged, put the upfront amount at around £36m and the potential overall package at £40m. Both accounts point to the same maximum value, but they should not be combined into an invented single breakdown using whichever figures appear most precise.
Almost Signed analysis: the disagreement concerns the split between fixed and conditional consideration, rather than the maximum headline valuation. The later BBC account places more of the possible package in add-ons. For West Ham, treating the ceiling as guaranteed income would erase that condition; for Brentford, it would overstate the amount established as unconditional by either account.
Brentford’s own announcement on 27 August independently confirms the completed permanent signing, a five-year contract and a club option for one further year. The club leaves the fee undisclosed, so its statement confirms the route and duration without settling the two publishers’ differing initial-fee estimates. It also does not establish that any add-ons were achieved or that the option year has been activated.
What remains unconfirmed
- The cited reports do not disclose the add-on triggers, payment calendar or wage terms.
Corrections
- Source check, 13 October 2026: The live BBC page says Brentford have signed Diouf. The BBC explicitly reports contract length and fee breakdown. The BBC records completion, five years plus option and £35m+£5m; The Standard is the earlier medical-stage report. The checked BBC page confirms completion and the terms quoted here.