West Ham are reportedly open to transfer offers for Algerian winger Said Benrahma this summer.
The 26-year-old joined the Hammers initially on loan from Brentford in October 2020 before signing permanently for £30million the following January as the club needed to free up a loan spot for the incoming Jesse Lingard. Benrahma finished his first season in claret and blue with 33 appearances and one goal.
That return improved significantly last season, with the winger netting 11 goals in 48 games as West Ham finished the Premier League season in seventh place and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. His form was inconsistent, however, with this becoming a source of frustration for David Moyes who could not rely on him to regularly impact games.
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As a result, West Ham are now hoping to cash in on their player after just two seasons, with the Guardian reporting that the funds they receive for Benrahma will be reinvested into the transfer budget at the London Stadium where the club hopes to make significant improvements to the current squad.
The club are already closing in on a deal for Rennes centre-back Nayef Aguerd for a reported £29.8million and are also said to be in the market for another forward, central midfielder and a left-back. One popular name with the fans in east London is Lingard, who is available on a free transfer following his release from boyhood club Manchester United.
The 29-year-old had an impressive spell on loan at the club in 2021 where he scored nine goals in 16 Premier League matches after arriving in January and struck up a brilliant relationship with Moyes, who is now keen to bring him back to the club this summer after being satisfied that the forward has not lost any motivation after a largely frustrating final season with the Red Devils.
"I can't really talk about him because he's a Manchester United player and it's not for me to talk," Moyes said of Lingard last December. “But he was really good for us. Jesse knows what we all think of him here. My disappointment for Jesse would be, I think he's such a talented football player and he's not playing.
"He played a big part in our second half of last season. But you'd have to give credit to the players here, they've moved on without Jesse. People might have thought Jesse made a difference here. But the players have moved on and stepped to another level themselves. But I've got to say, Jesse was a big part of that."
Lingard made 22 appearances for United last season but had been promised a larger role by previous manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during the summer, though this didn’t transpire following the arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho. A January move to Newcastle United was then blocked at the last minute by Solskjaer’s successor Ralf Rangick, with the club preferring to keep Lingard around due to no longer having Mason Greenwood available.
Lingard is currently on holiday but with the transfer window in the UK now officially open as of Friday, a deal could be struck for his return to West Ham in the coming weeks. There is competition for his signature from abroad with Jose Mourinho’s Roma reportedly interested in the England international too.
