In a surprise piece of news this morning is the development that West Ham have pulled out of any deal for Brentford’s Said Benrahma. Whilst this update will put a number of clubs on alert, it will likely interest Villa most who have the cash and lure of the Algerian’s former manager in Dean Smith.
This comes after weeks of speculation heavily linking Benrahma to the London Stadium, but any deal appeared centred on David Moyes raising the cash through the sale of Grady Diangana. However, the news this morning is that West Ham will walk away given Brentford’s £25+ million valuation for their in-demand playmaker:
Smith continues to be frustrated during this short summer transfer window and must now be mindful of the new campaign being just a mere matter of days away. As it stands, only Matty Cash has arrived at Villa Park.
Villa do have a significant transfer war-chest but remain constrained by having narrowly avoiding relegation as well as needing to await the outcome of third party transfer deals taking place first.
Embed from Getty ImagesBenrahma remains an interesting target, with the midfielder subject to repeated interest from a number of Premier League clubs. After an impressive Championship season, this resulted in links to top sides in the Premier League, including the likes of Chelsea.
However, with sides on the upper echelon’s of the division either keeping their hands in their pockets or making big-money moves for players across the continent, Benrahma’s options and value have since narrowed.
This is also well illustrated by interested parties, such as West Ham, dropping by the wayside, thus open the door to Villa and a stronger negotiating position.
Villa cooled their interest last summer in Benrahma when faced with the prospect of a rapid post-promotion re-build, instead opting to purchase Egyptian international Mahmoud Trezeguet.
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This is of course my personal opinion but I believe that Benrahma and Watkins together would pay dividends it’s a risk yes but when you consider how Maupay responded to the PL challenge I see no reason why both of these players wouldn’t do the same, so if there’s an opportunity I think the club should get it done, those two with Matty Cash and a new keeper would give us a fighting chance.
Personally ,I feel like Benrahma and Watkins should now be the priority for the club. They tick all the boxes – proven in British football, young, talented – and they’ve worked together and with the manager before. We’re inching closer to the start of the season, so if we can get players in who already have an established understanding it can only help them slot right in.
I don’t blame Brentford for trying to maximise their revenue from selling their players at all (or for wanting to keep them), after all, they just missed out on promotion and we have the same stance with our top players. So it’s us who are going to need to force the issue.
Smith having worked with them before is an important part of the equation; he knows their ability and their value so we have to trust his judgement. But for me, we’ve been linked to a lot of players but none who fit the bill quite like this pair would. Make an offer for both that meets their valuation, and the sooner the better.
Watkins scored 26 last year, same as Tammy did for us the previous season, and we’d have done anything to keep Tammy so signing Watkins is a no brainer. Benrahma bagged 17 off the wing last season along with being in double figures for assists, again I think it’s a no brainer. £50m for both, get it done. Leaves £36 million to get a centre half and centre mid.
Agree completely, I am hoping that Axel is available along with Billing from Bournemouth.
Let’s get it done. They are obviously improving every year. £50 mill seems ok they work together witch would make a easy fit in. Dean knows how good they are so I don’t get why it is taking so long to sort out. Some serious undercover stuff going on here