Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has made signing Brentford forward Said Benrahma ‘a priority’ – that’s according to Algerian outlet Le Buteur (via Sport Witness).
The 24-year-old Algerian has had an impressive season in the Championship for Thomas Frank’s side, scoring 17 goals and providing nine assists in 42 appearances to date (via Transfermarkt.co.uk).
The report claims that the Whites are preparing an offer of €26m (£23.49m) in an effort to tempt the Londoners into parting ways with their left-winger.
Benrahma has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea, but as well as reportedly earning Frank Lampard’s admiration, it appears his displays have caught the eyes of Leeds’ Argentinian boss. The Algerian international arrived in the United Kingdom from OGC Nice in a deal reportedly worth £1.53m back in July 2018 (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk). Since signing for the Bees, he’s played 87 times, scoring 28 goals and providing 26 assists.
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Benrahma has been Brentford’s most consistent performer in the Championship this season and boasts an average performance rating of 7.51/10 according to WhoScored. Despite playing from the left, he has managed to score more league goals than Patrick Bamford, who currently has 16 going into the final round of fixtures on Wednesday evening.
Leeds United recently completed the permanent signing of another winger in Helder Costa from Wolverhampton Wanderers, in a deal worth £15m (via Leeds Live), while they are set to have Jack Harrison on loan for another year at the club from Manchester City, so it is unclear who would make way for Benrahma if he were to be installed to the starting XI.
That said, Harrison has scored just six times in 45 league appearances this season and so you could argue that if the Whites were to land Benrahma, he would even be an upgrade on the City loanee.