Saïd Benrahma has officially transferred to Olympique Lyonnais from West Ham United for an undisclosed fee believed to be £15m.
The Algerian winger initially joined Lyon on loan in January 2024, and the Ligue 1 club has now opted to make the transfer permanent.
It’s fair to say that the gifted winger never truly earned the trust of former manager David Moyes. It was often rumoured the Scotsman had targeted Eberechi Eze for West Ham’s left hand side but had to make do with Benrahma when the sale of Grady Diangana was delayed.
Benrahma moved to West Ham from Brentford in October 2020, making 155 appearances in Claret and Blue. The 28-year-old scored 24 goals during his tenure, including a pivotal penalty in the UEFA Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina in Prague in June 2023. Additionally, he provided 20 assists for the team.
Despite his Prague heroics, Benni struggled during his final season in East London and it was no surprise to see him thrive as soon as he departed.
Undoubtedly a talented player, Benrahma was probably the right player at the wrong time for a club playing counter attacking football which never suited his game.
All the best Benni.
Thought Benrahma left in January?
Good luck to him, maybe French league will be more suited to his pace than the Prem.
Perhaps Lyon fans will be wowed by tricky ball skills and little end product.
Was a loan with option to buy.
B52- Benny left on loan in January with an option to buy.
Not sure I’d class this as part of an ‘exodus’. It’s arguable whether he was ever good enough in the first place. We only bought him to end his loan deal, to make room for Lingard. Otherwise he would’ve been sent back to Brentford after his 1 season I reckon.
Just a choice of words DJ, three players left West Ham today and four were released yesterday.
I could have gone with ‘trickle’ or ‘purge’ but went with Exodus.
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