Lyon captain Alexandre Lacazette admits there is ‘a lot of astonishment’ at the Ligue 1 outfit after they failed to sign Said Benrahma from Premier League outfit West Ham United on the final day of the January transfer window.
As the pictures of Said Benrahma seemingly wearing a Lyon tracksuit emerged on Thursday night, the Algeria international joined John Obi Mikel, Nabil Fekir and co in a rather select crop of players who were spotted donning the colours of their proposed ‘new club’, only to see the move collapse – almost literally in his case – at the eleventh hour.
HITC Football had been informed that Lyon had fought off a late hi-jack attempt from Fulham to bring Benrahma across the Channel.
A so-called ‘admin error’ meant the deal did not go through, however, though it is yet to be confirmed whether the former Brentford talisman – like David de Gea all those years ago – was the victim of a faulty fax machine.
Said Benrahma now stuck at West Ham United
“There is a lot of astonishment,” Lyon skipper and former Arsenal striker Lacazette tells Foot National. “Because, when we went to bed last night, we were expecting him at training this morning.
“And, ultimately he is not there. So there is really a lack of understanding in the group.”
Benrahma was expected to join on an initial loan deal, which could have turned into a £15 million permanent transfer. Lyon, who did manage to get a deal for Nottingham Forest’s press-resistant playmaker Orel Mangala over the line, turned their attention to Benrahma after agreeing terms with Everton’s Arnaut Danjuma, HITC Football understands.
“It’s something we’ve never had to deal with before,” Hammers boss David Moyes says, the Scot seemingly as baffled as everyone. “We’ll have to see (what happens with Benrahma). We’ll deal with it when we get back into a period where we can play him.”
Two deadline day exits collapse
“I would expect (him to still be committed to West Ham), yes.”
Remarkably, Benrahma was not the only West Ham player who saw a deadline day exit fall through in rather baffling circumstances. Real Betis, too, blamed a ‘computer problem’ at the London Stadium after missing out on a near-£7 million deal for Pablo Fornals.
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