Lisbon , Portugal - 2 November 2022; David Ornstein, The Athletic and Emma Jones, BBC Sport, Premier Sport TV & Leeds United TV SportsTrade stage during day one of Web Summit 2022 at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images)
West Ham have received a bid from Lyon for Said Benrahma worth a total of more than £15million, according to David Ornstein.
The Athletic journalist reported on the outlet’s website late on 29 January that the Ligue 1 side’s owner John Textor is a long-term admirer of the Algerian, since before he made his Hammers move and was still playing for Brentford.
The attacking midfielder, who was sent off in the 1-0 defeat to Bristol City as West Ham were knocked out of the FA Cup on 16 January, has made 155 appearances for the club but has fallen down the pecking order for David Moyes and has only started three times in the Premier League since August.
US billionaire Textor is also co-owner of Crystal Palace, as well as being in charge at Brazilian side Botafoga and Belgian club RWD Molenbeek [Daily Mail, 2 November], as part of a $1billion [£788m] investment in football [Wall Street Journal, 13 December].
On his way?
Benrahma seems to be free to go with the Hammers targeting attacking additions this month and having struck a deal with Jota.
But whether they deem the size of the bid satisfactory for a player who has two and a half years left on his contract and is still young enough to have a decent proportion of his career ahead of him is perhaps the question here.
He arrived from Brentford on an initial £5m loan deal in 2020, which was eventually made into a £20m permanent move with a further £5m in add-ons included.
West Ham may well hope for a few rival offers to arrive before the transfer deadline given a trio of Premier League teams are interested in Benrahma this month, with former side Brentford and both Fulham and Wolves also linked.
But spending in this season’s winter window has dropped off a cliff compared to a year ago so if the club want to shift him they might feel they need to take what is on offer sooner rather than later should they hope to turn it around and spend it.
