Said Benrahma was one-third of the deadly BMW front-three at Brentford.
After the Bees stumbled and missed promotion last season, that trio was broken up: Ollie Watkins sold to Aston Villa and Benrahma to West Ham United. Only Brian Mbeumo remains at the London club.
Now a strategic decision by the Hammers (tweet – below) will leave mean that Brentford will be quids in to the tune of £20m.
Said Benrahma – ‘complicated deal’ being made easy
The move taking Benrahma from Brentford to West Ham was called ‘complicated’ by the Guardian at the time.
Concerns raised during the Algerian flyer’s medical meant that the Hammers and Brentford were forced to renegotiate terms of the agreement.
What was to be a permanent move was reworked into an initial loan with an agreement to purchase fully in the summer of 2021.
The renegotiated deal saw David Moyes’ side put down, according to the Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg, a loan fee of £5m. This was to be followed by a summer payment of £20m – £5m more coming with add-ons.
However, that summer payment has edged its way forward a little as West Ham make a strategic decision.
West Ham decision means instant cash bonus for Brentford
Brentford are riding high in the Sky Bet Championship and are 3rd in the table.
They will be looking to push on in the 2021 part of the season and the following decision from West Ham could help them to achieve that:
West Ham in the process of converting Said Benrahma’s loan from Brentford into a permanent £20million move before the end of the January transfer window to open up a further domestic loan spot in their squad
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 26, 2021
With West Ham “in the process” of making Benrahma’s loan into a permanent deal, it offers up opportunities for both sides.
It would open up a loan spot for the Hammers. This strategic move, and change of status of the Benrahma deal, might suggest that Moyes has his eyes set in a particular direction.
However, the bigger story is that Brentford will be the ones who will benefit the most. Should they get that £20m in the company coffers, that could go a long way towards helping the Bees strengthen in the last days of the current window.
