Marseille eye deal for West Ham United ace Said Benrahma in behind-the-scenes January transfer talks
Marseille have held behind-the-scenes talks about the possibility of making a January transfer move for out-of-favour West Ham winger Said Benrahma, according to L’Equipe.
The respected French football news outlet reported on 29 December that Benrahma is one of several wingers being discussed at Marseille as they have begun transfer discussions already.
It looks likely that the Algerian will depart the London Stadium in January after falling out of favour with David Moyes and struggling for game time.
Drive the price up
The level of reported interest in securing Benrahma’s signature in January means the Hammers should be able to drive his price tag up, using the threat of a potential move elsewhere to tempt teams into upping their bids for his services.
So far ahead of the January window there has been reported interest from Marseille, Lyon, Fenerbahce, and Saudi Arabian clubs as rumours of an exit continue to ramp up, with no price tag set on his head yet, although players often leave for a premium halfway through the season.
Benrahma has started just four Premier League games for the East London club so far this season, with the rest of his 12 appearances coming from the bench, and a cameo appearance which saw him miss a penalty in the 2-0 win against Arsenal may have been the final nail in his coffin.
He is clearly out of favour with the boss and is attracting no shortage of interest from elsewhere, so it may be in the best interests of all involved to allow him to leave in January if an appropriate offer is made.
In other West Ham news, Ally McCoist has hit out at David Moyes sack questions.