West Ham United could delay Said Benrahma exit decision after Mohammed Kudus news
With Mohammed Kudus set to join the Ghana squad for the upcoming African Cup of Nations, West Ham could be tempted to delay the exit of Said Benrahma.
After the Hammers’ request for Kudus to play against Brighton was rejected by Ghana [talkSPORT, 1 January], the reality that they will be without their star man suddenly hit.
The Algerian has found regular game time hard to come by so far this season thanks to the emergence of Kudus alongside Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen as the front three, but Kudus’ exit may secure him more minutes.
Benrahma has been heavily linked to a move away, with the most recent report suggesting Fulham could make a January move for the winger, as well as links to a move to France with Lyon [Daily Mail, 1 January], but due to a lack of depth at West Ham, the move could be delayed.
As things stand, the alternative options to Kudus would be playing Bowen on the right with one of Danny Ings or Divin Mubama through the middle, or choosing between exit-linked pair Pablo Fornals and Maxwel Cornet to play on the right-hand side.
Neither of those would be ideal options for the Hammers, and if there is no winger or centre-forward immediately set to arrive in January, the loss of Kudus could be a huge blow to their attacking fluidity and threat in the coming games.
With Benrahma seemingly off and Kudus to miss potentially as long as a month away on international duty, David Moyes will be left scrambling in the transfer market either to bring in a new striker or winger, so keeping Benrahma around until that is possible may be the best course of action.
In other West Ham news, a striker has been linked with the move once again.