West Ham United: Said Benrahma to jet out on deadline day to complete medical and quit London Stadium – Fabrizio Romano
Lyon expect West Ham attacker Said Benrahma to jet out of the UK today in order to complete his medical tests in France, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Italian transfer guru shared on his personal X account (1 February) that the Algerian will jet out of the club in order to seal his loan exit to the Ligue 1 club with a medical and contract signing expected.
L’Equipe reported on 30 January that Lyon will pay a €5million (£4.2m) loan fee for the 28-year-old until the end of the season and then will have the option to buy worth an additional €10million (£8.5m) should they want to keep the Algerian attacker beyond the summer.
Romano posted in the early hours of Tuesday morning: “Olympique Lyon expect Saïd Benrahma to travel today for medical tests and contract signing. Almost there, same as Mangala.”
Edges closer
It seems the Hammers are happy to allow Benrahma to leave the club despite their limited options in attack and that can tell fans all they need to know about how he’s been viewed at West Ham recently.
With Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus all preferred to him, the Algerian has made five league starts and when given the opportunity by David Moyes, he’s flattered to deceive every time.
£15m fee for a player who hasn’t enjoyed a decent 90-minute display for the club is an excellent business and a deal that technical director Tim Steidten would not have been hesitant to accept.
Certainly, it is an initial loan deal but this frees up space for the Hammers to bring any replacement before Thursday’s deadline and it remains to be seen whether the Algerian will still be a West Ham player when the 2024/25 campaign kicks off.
The move being sanctioned also suggests that the Hammers are pretty confident they can get in a replacement on deadline day and that has to be sealed before the window shuts if the club want to challenge on all fronts between now and May.
Considering West Ham’s targets of Ibrahim Osman and Al Ittihad’s Jota, it is clear the club want at least one new winger before the transfer window closes on 1 February and that fee could well fund what they need.
In other West Ham news, the man at the centre of a transfer window controversy wants the Hammers to sign him.
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