West Ham Activate Benrahma Purchase Clause Early

It has been confirmed that West Ham loanee Said Benrahma has become a permanent Hammer. The news comes after the club brought forward the obligation to purchase the player from Championship side Brentford.

After a slow start to life at the London Stadium Benrahma has started to show why the club signed him in the summer. The Algerian has signed a long-term contract at the club and will cost West Ham £20 million on top of the original £5 million loan fee, though that was to be expected.

The 25-year-old was one of the best players in the Championship last year and is adapting to life in the Premier League. Benrahma struggled at the Hammers attempt first as he did not suit David Moyes’ hard-working ethic. Now the attacker has shown that he is capable of being a team player he is reaping the rewards.

West Ham have made Said Benrahma a permanent Hammer after bringing forward the purchase obligation in his loan deal.

Benrahma may only have 3 assists in 13 appearances in all competitions, but his performances have been sublime at times. The announcement has come after arguably his best game for the club against Cyrstal Palace. The Algerian ran the show against the Eagles and would have had a couple of assists if Michail Antonio had his shooting boots on.

But why bring the obligation forward?

There are some questions as to why the club have decided to make this move now. The main reason is that Benrahma’s purchase will free up domestic loan space in the club. The club have been linked with Jesse Lingard and want to sign the United player on loan. With a loan spot no longer being occupied by Benrahma, this is now possible.

The other question is why not buy Craig Dawson for much less money and conserve the budget for a new striker. The club could be cautious of making Dawson’s loan move permanent now as he has only performed over the last month and there is no obligation to buy him in summer. Moyes could easily wait and see how he gets on for the rest of the season before deciding on making his deal permanent.

Moyes may also want to upgrade on the 30-year-old defender. The Scottish manager wanted to sign a big-name defender in the summer but failed with moves for James Tarkowski and Duje Caleta-Car.

West Ham are having a fantastic season and are currently challenging at the top end of the Premier League table against all odds. Moyes has done a fantastic job at the helm and should be fully trusted to make the decisions.