Many players could leave West Ham in January as manager David Moyes plots a mid-season shake up, coming after Thilo Kehrer's move to Monaco.
West Ham may sell-to-buy this month
Kehrer reportedly travelled to have his medical with the Ligue 1 side on Thursday, with the Germany international joining them on loan with a mandatory purchase clause.
The 27-year-old struggled for game time under Moyes this season, and a move away for Kehrer may suit all parties as West Ham could have to sell surplus players before making signings of their own. ExWHUemployee, a reliable club insider, revealed late last year that West Ham have a limited January budget to play with.
“I have spoken to the person who would be best placed to answer on our January transfer budget,” said Ex.
“What I was told is that Under Financial Fair Play we are struggling. We overspent in 2021 and we have to be careful to not ‘do an Everton’.
“So although there is money there in the pot, it isn’t a huge amount as the club are being understandably careful. We only need to look at the situations at Everton, Man City and Chelsea to know how serious it can be if not keeping within the parameters.”
Therefore, exits may be crucial at the London Stadium this month to raise much-needed funds. The likes of Danny Ings, Ben Johnson, Conor Coventry, Said Benrahma and even Nayef Aguerd have been linked with departures this month at various points.
Sharing an update on Benrahma, journalist Dean Jones suggests he could be one of the main candidates to leave West Ham.
Benrahma attracting lots of interest
According to the reporter, speaking to GiveMeSport this week, Benrahma could depart West Ham and is a man in demand – with clubs from France, Saudi Arabia and potentially England taking note of his possible availability.
"To be honest, Benrahma is just not going to cut it at West Ham. It's not going to happen for him. There have been umpteen opportunities for this to take off now, but it just hasn't," said Jones.
"I just don't see the benefits of him being around the club. They are getting quite a bit of interest in him, from what I understand, not just from Lyon.
"I know a couple of other teams in France have been interested and there has been Saudi interest. There will probably be interest within the Premier League as well, to be honest, if they start touting him around. There is definitely going to be three or four players leaving West Ham in January."
The Algeria international has started just five top-flight matches this season, despite his attacking flair at points. Former West Ham striker Frank McAvennie has also called Benrahma a "wonderful talent", but it appears he could be best suited to moving elsewhere.