West Ham United: Journalist shares Said Benrahma to Lyon transfer development

West Ham forward Said Benrahma appears close to belatedly finalising a move to Lyon after arriving at the Ligue 1 side’s training ground.

Journalist Razik Brikh posted via his personal Twitter page on Friday (2 February) that Benrahma was “all smiles” when arriving.

The Algeria international saw a move between the teams fall through on Deadline Day due to the relevant paperwork not being filed in time.

However, FIFA rules state that a transfer could still go through after the cut-off point and that now appears likely to be the case.

“Said Benrahma (with his family) has just arrived, all smiles, at the training center for a quick visit,” Brikh posted.

Said Benrahma transfer latest

Quite why the paperwork was not submitted in time is anyone’s guess. Lyon were quick to point the finger at West Ham for their incompetence.

As a reminder, teams have a whole month to work on deals – there is absolutely no reason why it should come down to the very final seconds.

The risk of that is highlighted with this particular case, as West Ham, Lyon and Benrahma are all left disappointed.

However, with the 28-year-old now at Lyon’s training base, you would imagine that can only mean one thing.

FIFA has signed off on Lyon being able to confirm the deal beyond Thursday’s (1 February) deadline, so let’s just hope there are no further setbacks.

West Ham

It would be the second post-Deadline Day departure from United’s perspective, as Pablo Fornals has signed for Real Betis.

Even if it does go through, this does not reflect well on West Ham and their ability to conduct business.

In other West Ham news, a manager was said to be “uneasy” over signing a player from United on Deadline Day.

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