David Ornstein: Benrahma scheduled to undergo West Ham medical on Wednesday
West Ham have agreed a fee with Brentford to sign Algeria international Said Benrahma, according to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein.
Writing on The Athletic’s website on Sunday, Ornstein reported that the Hammers have agreed to pay £30million, plus add-ons, for the 25-year-old forward but East London club is yet to finalise personal terms.
Ornstein added that Benrahma is scheduled to have a medical with West Ham on Wednesday once he has returned from international duty with Algeria, who play a friendly match against Mexico in the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Benrahma was one of the stand-out players of the 2019/20 Championship season as Brentford finished third in the table and missed out on promotion in a play-off defeat to Fulham.
The former OGC Nice attacker scored 17 goals and supplied 10 assists in 46 league appearances for the Bees while stats by WhoScored show that no player averaged more shots at goal per game [3.9] than the Algerian in 2019/20.
Benrahma also ranked joint first for averages dribbles per match [3.1] and joint-seventh in the Championship for key passes per match [2.1].
Once West Ham fans are allowed back inside the London Stadium to watch the team play, Benrahma is bound to be one of those players who will get supporters out of their seats with the way he can run with the ball and cut inside from the wing.
Speaking in August, former West Ham midfielder Don Hutchison told ESPN that Benrahma is more than ready for the step up to the Premier League
“I think he is [a Premier League player],” Hutchison said. “I think Thomas Frank at Brentford has done a terrific job in bringing him on.
“I had not seen him play before he came to Brentford and he looks a fantastic player. He was quite anonymous in the play-off final. He didn’t have a good game.
“But you can still see little flashes when he plays on that left-hand side. He goes to the byline, once he chops inside onto his right foot, he’s got that shot where he whips it into the top corner.
“It would be a shame for Brentford moving into their stadium if they don’t keep hold of him. But when I looked at the majority of their players, he was the one who stood out for me. If someone from the Premier League wants to take a chance on someone from the Championship then Benrahama would be the one.”
While Benrahma didn’t stand out in that play-off final defeat to Fulham, the Algerian forward certainly made amends by netting twice against the Cottagers in the Carabao Cup fourth round last month.
Benrahma scored twice as Brentford won 3-0 against Fulham.
Although Scott Parker’s side are among the favourites to be relegated from the Premier League this season, Benrahma still showed he has the ability to score against top-flight clubs.
We cannot wait to see what he can do in claret and blue in East London.
In other West Ham news, Bournemouth have rejected West Ham’s bid for Joshua King.