Tim Steidten ‘gifts West Ham transfer cash windfall’ in unexpected twist
Tim Steidten finally has something positive to show for his efforts at West Ham United.
The Irons sporting director is “on the brink” of leaving his role in East London as per talkSPORT (23 January), after recruitment analyst Kyle Macaulay completed his move from Chelsea [The Guardian].
However, the German will at least leave having topped up the transfer coffers for Graham Potter amid the latest reports emerging in France.
According to L’Équipe [26 January], Lyon unexpectedly found a buyer for Said Benrahma, who is now closing in on a £12.6million move to Saudi Arabian outfit Neom SC – thus, the Hammers will receive a cash windfall.
The French side’s official website confirmed last summer that Steidten had negotiated a 10 per cent sell-on clause into the deal to offload Benrahma, meaning West Ham are now in line to receive a payment of £1,260,000 that could go towards new transfers.
Tim Steidten sends West Ham United parting gift
Benrahma will be forever remembered for converting his penalty to give West Ham the lead in the Europa Conference League final, which helped them lift the trophy.
However, the Algerian burned all his bridges in East London as he pushed for an eventual exit, but the Irons will have the last laugh.
Not long after his arrival, Lyon were provisionally relegated from Ligue 1 for financial mismanagement, so all first-team players were made available in the transfer market.
Given that the 29-year-old has only made 25 league appearances for Lyon, with four goals to show for his efforts, it is a rare and welcome surprise that the forward has found a new home so quickly.
While the £1m or so West Ham are to generate from the sale is hardly eye-watering, small details like this are exactly what generate further revenue in the long run.
Therefore, as Steidten prepares to leave the UK before parting ways with the Hammers, at least one of his transfer dealings resulted in a happy ending.
In other West Ham news, Lucas Paqueta misfires for the Irons against Aston Villa after an “embarrassing” rant.
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