West Ham finally SIGN exciting Said Benrahma on loan

West Ham have announced the signing of Said Benrahma after finally closing on the transfer which has dragged on from the weekend.

The signing of Said Benrahma is a big coup for West Ham who have had a relatively quiet transfer window compared to other sides in the Premier League. The Hammers have only previously signed Vladimir Coufal, Ossama Ashley and Craig Dawson this summer.

Dawson has been signed a as back up and Ashley has been placed into the development side. Coufal is the only player that strengthen the first team, until now. Benrahma is expected to challenge Pablo Fornals for a spot in the first-team.

Fornals has been responsible for the left-midfield position after the exits of Grady Diangana and Felipe Anderson. The 24-year-old has excelled in recent weeks and put in crucial contributions in the Hammers wins over Wolves and Leicester City.

The deal for Benrahma did have complications over the last week. The main hiccup was the player’s conflict with former team, Brentford. The Bees owed the Algerian payment for a loyalty bonus as he did not request to leave the club. Once that issue was sorted the deal has seemed to go through without any more major issues.

That was until deadline day. The deal was expected to be announced in the morning but after a complication with the winger’s medical the whole transfer was at risk. Thankfully the issues were sorted out after the deal was announced after the club submitted a deal sheet for extra time.

Benrahma’s transfer did change. The winger was expected to have signed a five-year deal which would have tripled his Brentford wages by joining the East London side. Now the Algerian will join on an initial on-year-loan costing £4 million with West Ham having the obligation to buy him at the end of the loan for £21 million. There is also a potential further payment of £5 million in add-ons.

Fans will be keen to see Benrahma in action who has built a reputation of being a player capable of getting fans off their seats. Though that will be the sofa seat for the time being.

Since joining Brentford, Benrahma made ninety-four appearances in all competitions for the Bees and contributed towards an impressive fifty-seven goals. The 25-year-old score thirty and assisted twenty-seven of during his time as a Bee.

Benrahma will not be able to make his debut for the West Ham on Sunday in the clubs London derby against Tottenham Hotspur. The deal was completed to late and the player will have to wait to make his debut.