Should Leicester bid for this available West Ham star?
By Will Kennedy
The question now is if Leicester City should consider a move for him, and the answer isn’t a simple ‘yes’. Afterall, there is a reason why Benrahma is available: he has found it difficult to consistently have an impact on the games he’s played in.
Signed for just £1.5 million in 2018 from Nice, it wasn’t until the following season in which Benrahma really started to shine for Brentford in the Championship. In the 2019/20 campaign, Benrahma played 43 times in England’s second division, scoring 17 goals and setting up a further nine.
The talent was clear to be seen and following Brentford’s failed promotion, a swarm of Premier League teams were interested in signing the winger – Leicester included. Brentford managed to cling on to him, though his heart had already drifted and, after only three appearances for the Bees in the opening stages of the 2020/21 campaign, Benrahma secured a loan move to West Ham.
The Algerian found the jump to the Premier League a challenge, and he didn’t have the immediate impact he was hoping for, but West Ham were impressed with the player and the talent he promised them, leading to the Hammers making his switch a permanent one in the 2021 winter transfer window for just over £20 million. Benrahma finished that season with 33 appearances in all competitions, scoring once and assisting six times.