Alex Crook shares West Ham United transfer targets as Lyon await Said Benrahma decision
West Ham are “working overtime” to sign a new attacker so that Said Benrahma can depart London Stadium, according to Alex Crook.
Sharing an update on talkSPORT [30 January, 11:53], Crook stated Lyon are the frontrunners to sign Benrahma after tabling a £15million offer.
West Ham are unlikely to sanction his exit unless a replacement is first signed, with Ibrahim Osman and Jota both late January targets.
“There’s interest from Everton as a possible destination, but at the moment Lyon are the most advanced,” Crook said.
“They have made an offer in excess of £15m in total. West Ham haven’t said yes or no at this point.
“They perhaps need to get their own ducks in order and source a replacement. Benrahma is clearly not fancied by David Moyes.
“What happens in terms of a replacement, well they’re in talks with Jota but it’s complicated due to tax implications.
“Ibrahim Osman looked close at one stage. So West Ham are working overtime to bring in a replacement for Benrahma before they let him go.”
Makes sense
West Ham would not exactly miss Benrahma all that much, but at the same time they cannot afford to weaken the squad by sanctioning his exit just yet.
A deal for Osman looked very close at one stage last week, while talks are said to be ongoing to bring in former Celtic attacker Jota.
Both of those look like being better options than Benrahma – especially in the case of Jota – so let’s hope there is some movement on that front.
Assuming Benrahma is open to a move to Lyon, he will need to ensure he has his bags packed and passport ready.
The transfer window closes on Thursday (1 February), so it is now a race against time to bring in a player and sanction this exit.
With Kalvin Phillips having already been brought in on loan, this could be considered a positive window on the whole if Jota or Osman come in.
In other West Ham news, a Billionaire-owned club has reportedly made a late attempt to sign a player from the Hammers.
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