Said Benrahma offered January exit route as ex-West Ham coach admits it’s time to move on

West Ham winger Said Benrahma is a January target for French club Lyon, talkSPORT understands.

The 28-year-old initially joined the Hammers on loan from Brentford in October 2020 and sealed a permanent move a few months later.

Benrahma has since made 152 appearances across all competitions for West Ham but has made just four Premier League starts this season.

As a result Lyon, who sit 15th in Ligue 1, are keen on a move for the Algerian international when the January transfer window opens.

Benrahma is open to a move after seeing his game time limited this season, with just over 1,000 minutes played in 19 appearances.

Speaking on talkSPORT for West Ham's clash against Manchester United, in which Benrahma started on the bench, former Hammers coach Stuart Pearce said: «It's not come as a surprise to me.

»I think I read somewhere that Saudi [Arabia] might be interested in him as well.

«I don't think he's played regularly enough and consistently enough here to say they need to hang on to him.

»It might be time for him to move on potentially and reinvest the money."

Benrahma currently competes with Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus for starting spots in the West Ham line-up.

The duo have scored 12 and eight goals respectively for the east London side in all competitions this season and are key to the side.

Benrahma did in fact start in all three of West Ham's Carabao Cup matches, with defeat coming against Liverpool during the week.

He has also appeared in the starting XI in four of their six Europa League group stage ties, but Premier League action is limited.

His last top-flight start came in the 3-2 defeat away at his former club Brentford at the beginning of November.

Benrahma is also yet to score for West Ham this season and Lyon