Speaking recently on the Football Writers Podcast, Anne-Marie Batson claimed that the arrival of Said Benrahma could leave West Ham United boss, David Moyes, with a ‘problem’.
After moving to Brentford from OGC Nice in what was a £1.53 million deal back in 2018, Benrahma highly impressed for the Bees, scoring 30 goals and providing 27 assists over his 94 appearances for the Championship side.
Last season, in particular, the £19.8 million-rated 25-year-old thrived in west London, scoring 17 goals and providing nine assists over his 46 Championship and Championship play-off appearances, averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.49 – ranking him as the club’s best performer in the league.
As a result of these performances, interest was high in the Algeria international over the summer transfer window, with Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Leicester City all reported to be keen on a move for the winger, however, West Ham were the eventual winners of Benramha’s signature, landing him on a one-year loan deal, which is set to become a £20.79 million permanent move next summer.
However, according to Batson, speaking on a recent episode of the Football Writers Podcast, the acquisition of Benrahma could provide Moyes with something of a problem, as the journalist appeared to be at a loss as to where the winger fits into the West Ham system.
She said: “Having Benrahma join the team with his creative flair, with his pace, he can cause defenders all kinds of trouble – he’s someone who likes to roam freely. The problem I think, though, that David Moyes has is that he likes that defensive setup.
“So, where is Benrahma going to sit in that formation? I was thinking, perhaps it could be a 3-4-3 because I’ve mentioned that he likes to roam freely, or maybe a 5-4-1, but then what does that mean for [Pablo] Fornals who has been playing on the left brilliantly?”
“Let’s be honest, this is a nice headache for David Moyes to have. He hasn’t had this opportunity to be able to choose a select number of players in his team to push West Ham forward, which I think will bring some relief to West Ham fans.”
Do you think Benrahma will help West Ham achieve a top 10 finish this season?
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TIF Thoughts on Anne-Marie Batson’s comments regarding Said Benrahma…
From Batson’s comments, it is clear that, while the journalist does indeed believe that Benramha’s addition to the West Ham squad does cause Moyes a problem, she goes on to state that it must be a nice headache for the manager to have.
And, with Manchester City up next for the Hammers, it will certainly be interesting to see how Moyes does integrate his new signing into the team.