10 Great Premier League one-season wonders of the decade (2010-2019)

#9 Diafra Sakho

Diafra Sakho became a cult hero at West Ham, but failed to recreate the form of his debut season

Senegal’s Diafra Sakho signed with West Ham in the summer of 2014 from French side Metz for a fee of around £3.5m, and the forward immediately became a cult hero amongst Hammers fans by scoring a goal in a win over Liverpool on his home debut. Sakho went onto score four goals in his first four starts for the Hammers, breaking a record held for 26 years in the process.

Awarded Premier League Player of the Month in October 2014, Sakhko’s good form continued throughout the season – despite some controversy after playing for West Ham after withdrawing from the Senegal squad for the African Cup of Nations with an apparent injury – and he ended the 2014-15 season as the Hammers’ top scorer with 12 goals in all competitions.

Unfortunately, the Senegalese striker found things tough in his second term in London, scoring just five Premier League goals in 21 games and struggling with injuries at times. When boss Sam Allardyce left the club and was replaced by Slaven Bilic, things got even worse – Sakho fell out of favour and after scoring just twice in 2017-18, was sold to Rennes – where his struggles continued.

Since leaving West Ham, Sakho has played just 25 games and has scored just five goals – meaning the reported £4.5m fee the London side received for the Senegalese player turned out to be a great deal for them.