Sky Sports are reporting that West Ham are in advanced talks to sign Brentford forward Said Benrahma in a deal worth around £30million. Premier League clubs have until the 16th October to finalise deals with football league clubs and several lower league players are attracting the interest of top-flight English clubs.
Part of an explosive trio for Brentford
Last season Brentford were the best attacking team in the Championship. Only an agonising play-off final defeat against Fulham prevented the Bees earning promotion. Benrahma was part of an exciting trio alongside Ollie Watkins and Bryan Mbeumo. The trio helped Thomas Frank’s team to be the highest-scoring team in the second tier of the English game.
Watkins performances and goals earned him a £33million move to Aston Villa. He recently scored a hat-trick for the Villans in their incredible 7-2 hammering of reigning English champions Liverpool. There was expected to be interest in Benrahma after the Bees failure to secure promotion. However, there has not been any concrete offers until now.
Reshaping the West Ham attack
West Ham look to be heading in a more positive direction after a seemingly toxic summer. Head Coach David Moyes has not been able to bring in transfer targets this summer, as he failed to shift some of the overpaid players already on the club’s wage bill. The only new arrival at the club from the east of London was Tomas Soucek, who joined permanently after a successful loan spell. West Ham did manage to loan out Felipe Anderson to Porto on deadline day. The Brazilian has experienced a decidedly mixed career with the Hammers.
Moyes looks to be attempting to reshape his attack, with the likes of Michail Antonio and Jarrad Bowen proving more influence in recent games. French forward Sebastien Haller has not started any of their league games but came on as a substitute in all four matches so far. It seems that the management is attempting to work out their best attacking options, with so many players at their disposal.
However, Benrahma looks like a player that is more than capable of adding something different to the Irons attack. The 25-year-old Algerian international winger has got into double figures for goals in the last two seasons in the Championship. He has also produced 23 assists in the last two campaigns in English second tier. He certainly seems to be a player that could thrive in the Premier League if given the chance.
Benrahma knows the English game
West Ham have spent relatively big by their standards in recent years bringing in foreign players mainly from abroad for big fees. The likes of Andriy Yarmolenko, Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller have all proven to be highly inconsistent during their Irons careers. The latter has only had one season at the club, so may still prove to be a success. However, the other two have just not lived up to their billing or fees.
Benrahma is different from the trio, as he knows the English game, the language and the culture. He has proven his ability in the second tier. The only concern is if he can make the step up to the Premier League. However, from the outside looking in, the deal looks like a potentially shrewd one from West Ham, whose crisis may have been slightly exaggerated.
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Will Said Benrahma be a good signing for West Ham?
