West Ham United retain double-digit sell-on clause after permanent transfer exit confirmed
West Ham will receive 10 per cent of the profit from any future transfer of Said Benrahma, Lyon have confirmed after signing of the attacker.
The Ligue 1 side made the Algerian’s loan move permanent on 30 June, confirming the figures involved were £12.3million on top of a £5.1m loan fee paid when he moved to France in the January transfer window.
The 28-year-old has signed a three-year deal after making 15 times over the second half of last season, and the Hammers retain the rights to a tenth of any capital gains if he moves on for a profit in future.
Benrahma follows Thilo Kehrer, whose loan to Monaco was confirmed as being made permanent on 17 May, and Nathan Trott, whose sale to FC Copenhagen was announced on 22 June, as departures from the London Stadium this summer, with Ben Johnson also now unveiled by Ipswich Town on 1 July.
Said Benrahma leaves West Ham after 155 appearances
It is perhaps unlikely that Lyon will be selling Benrahma for nothing of £17m in the future unless he has a spectacular season in France next term so it may be that the clause ends up a moot point.
Letting the attacking midfielder leave in January, along with the permanent departure of Pablo Fornals to Real Betis, without securing replacements was one of the key missteps in David Moyes’ final transfer window in charge.
Only the disastrous loan move for Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City was completed and any hopes the Scot may have had of a strong end to the season securing him a contract extension seemingly disappeared.
Tim Steidten has since landed Luis Guilherme as the first signing of the Julen Lopetegui era and there is interest in the likes of Jota Silva [talkSPORT, 11 June] as the forward areas are restocked for the new manager.
The combined fee for Benrahma is decent without being a mega-windfall but the technical director still needs to make the most of whatever budget it has contributed to this summer to restock the side.
A centre-forward is badly needed and another supporting attacker would help boost numbers, even before the potential exits of Maxwel Cornet or even star man Mohammed Kudus, so there is plenty of work still to do.
In other West Ham news, the club want to sign Lopetegui’s “ideal” candidate to address the deficiencies at striker.
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