According to David Ornstein, West Ham has received an offer from Lyon for Said Benrahma, amounting to more than £15 million. The Athletic journalist reported on January 29th that Lyon’s owner, John Textor, has admired the Algerian for a long time, even before his move to West Ham from Brentford.
The offer of £15 million plus additional payments has not been accepted by West Ham, but Lyon believes that the 28-year-old Benrahma is interested in the move to France. Despite making 155 appearances for the club, he has fallen down the pecking order under David Moyes and has only started three times in the Premier League since August.
US billionaire Textor, also the co-owner of Crystal Palace, has invested $1 billion in football, including Brazilian side Botafoga and Belgian club RWD Molenbeek. With West Ham targeting attacking additions this month and striking a deal with Jota, it seems that Benrahma is free to leave.
However, whether West Ham deems the bid satisfactory for a player who still has two and a half years left on his contract and has plenty of career ahead of him remains to be seen. West Ham may hope for rival offers before the transfer deadline, as Brentford, Fulham, and Wolves are also interested in Benrahma.
Spending in this winter window has decreased compared to a year ago, so if West Ham wants to offload him, they may need to consider the offers available sooner rather than later.
