West Ham United transfer news: Brentford development in Said Benrahma race with Fulham and Wolves
Brentford have made contact with Said Benrahma’s representatives as they look to bring the West Ham man back to West London, according to Santi Aouna.
The Foot Mercato journalist reported via Twitter on 10 January that Bees had joined Premier League rivals Fulham and Wolves in the race to sign the Hammers attacker, with Lyon also involved.
The Ligue 1 side are currently in talks with the Algerian in the hopes of agreeing a deal with him before they approach West Ham, who are prepared to let him go this month.
Aouna wrote: “Brentford now add Saïd Benrahma to their winger list. Contacts took place with his entourage.
“Fulham and Wolves are there. Talks continue with Lyon. L’OL want first to reach an agreement with the player before sending a formal offer to West Ham.”
More the merrier
The Irons need to shift some players in order to fund incoming business this month so the proliferating race to sign Benrahma can only be a positive.
West Ham are said to want €23million [£19.7m] to sell the [Foot Mercato, 3 January] so their chances of getting what they want out of the deal should be higher the more potential destinations there are.
Ajax’s Steven Bergwijn has been lined up as a prime target during the January transfer window, and the Dutchman is believed to be interested in a return to the Premier League following his spell at Tottenham.
But with a rapidly deteriorating injury picture at the London Stadium which has Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta ruled out, while Mohammed Kudus is away at the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon, the club are going to need to ensure they have a deal ready to go fast for a replacement if and when one club wins the race for Benrahma.
David Moyes is currently faced with having to turn to his back up options, who are largely surplus to requirements, with Michail Antonio also out for a number of weeks.
So it is a delicate balancing act if he is to be able to move any of them on to bring in signings while using them in his line-up this month.
In other West Ham news, Dharmesh Sheth has shared an update as the Hammers try to sign a club’s top scorer during the January window.