West Ham transfer: Cup-winning hero heading for exit with loan-to-buy deal in place
West Ham United winger Said Benrahma is reportedly travelling to France to complete his deadline day loan move to French club Lyon.
Lyon agreed a deal on Wednesday to sign Benrahma on loan for the rest of the season, with an obligation to make the move permanent for a fee of £17million in the summer.
Reports on Thursday morning claimed that Benrahma had requested more time to weight up a switch to France, having arrived at West Ham from Brentford in October 2020.
Fresh revelations have indicated that the 28-year-old has now made up his mind and is on his way to Lyon to undergo a medical and finalise the deal, although conflicting reports suggest that Benrahma still has a more lucrative offer on the table from an unnamed club in Turkey.
Other sources have indicated that Fulham are pushing to hijack the move for Benrahma despite talks with Lyon reached an advanced stage.
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Benrahma has made just 13 Premier League appearances in the Premier League so far this season, registering a single assist.
The winger, who scored the opening goal of West Ham’s historic Europa Conference League final triumph over Fiorentina last season, has been inconsistent over the course of his career at the London Stadium and was left out of Algeria’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.
West Ham have already been active in the January window, beating the likes of Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Juventus to the loan signing of Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
Earlier this month, West Ham manager David Moyes admitted the club would have to sell before making any extra additions in January, claiming any deal for Benrahma to leave would require a commitment to a permanent deal.
He said: “We probably need to sell to get some other players in. If that’s the case then we’re probably in a selling mood, rather than a loaning mood.
“The truth is it’s probably 50-50 [if players will be sold]. I’ve got no absolute definitive saying somebody else is going, but there’s noises in the background that maybe some other people may go.
“We probably wanted some outs before we had people coming in. I said our budget isn’t huge in this window. There’s lots of reasons why there’s probably not a lot of signings going on.”
A deal for Benrahma would likely have a domino effect on Lyon creative midfielder Rayan Cherki, who has reportedly been the subject of a £30million approach from Fulham.
Lyon are set to make a double Premier League swoop on deadline day, with the French club also keen on Nottingham Forest midfield star Orel Mangala.