West Ham United insider @ExWHUemployee has recently discussed why the Hammers opted to sign Said Benrahma over AFC Bournemouth’s Joshua King.
Last week, it was revealed that the London Stadium club had completed the signing of Benrahma on a loan deal from Brentford which set them back £5m (per BBC).
There is also an obligation for West Ham to buy the winger for £20m with a further £5m included in the deal in possible add-ons.
While the Hammers were in negotiations with the Bees for the winger, it was also reported that David Moyes’ side had an interest in Bournemouth’s Josh King and they had seen a bid rejected for him (per Sky Sports).
So, in the latest episode of The West Ham Way Podcast, @ExWHUemployee discussed the interest in King and explained why the club opted for Benrahma.
He said: “[When Benrahma came for his medical], they were toying between Benrahma and Joshua King. Moyes, initially, was more convinced by Joshua King.
“[He’s] more versatile [because he’s a] forward/left-winger, proven in the Premier League, Norwegian international, arguably [has a] better work rate than Benrahma, so, he was more keen on him.
“David Sullivan was more keen on Benrahma and they went back and forth, back and forth. Then, Moyes was persuaded that Benrahma was the better player, so, he went for Benrahma.”
TIF Thoughts on what @ExWHUemployee had to say about Joshua King and Said Benrahma…
As can be seen in what the in-the-know podcaster had to say, it appears that Moyes was initially more convinced by the potential signing of King over Benrahma.
The claim came despite @ExWHUemployee stating on the previous episode of the podcast that King was “the second-choice” option behind Benrahma.
Who would you rather the Hammers had signed?
Benrahma
King
During his career, King has far more Premier League experience than Benrahma, with the Norwegian having scored 48 goals in 161 top-flight appearances (per Transfermarkt), while the Algerian has never played in the Premier League.
However, during the most recent season, Benrahma delivered a stellar 7.49/10 average rating in the Championship (per WhoScored) while King picked up a 6.76/10 in the top flight.
So, although the two attackers were playing in different divisions, it may be clear to see why Sullivan was more convinced by the 25-year-old Algerian.