According to The Sun, Brentford winger Said Benrahma is set to join Crystal Palace in a £20 million deal after Aston Villa and West Ham United pulled out of race to sign him.
The Algerian international wants to play in the English top-flight after the Bees failed to earn promotion last term, and the Eagles are now ready to offer him that chance.
Villa are still looking to strengthen their attack after signing Benrahma’s former teammate Ollie Watkins last week, and manager Dean Smith is now keen on Lyon’s Bertrand Traore instead of the 25-year-old.
West Ham were also linked with interest, but bolstering other areas appears to be the priority, and they have sold Grady Diangana to raise cash for that reason.
David Moyes’ men suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of Newcastle United yesterday at the London Stadium, and while that should inspire them to make quality additions, a move for Benrahma doesn’t seem to be on the cards.
Palace started the Premier League campaign with a 1-0 win over Southampton on Saturday, but manager Roy Hodgson still wants attacking reinforcements despite signing Eberechi Eze from Queens Park Rangers two weeks ago.
Wilfried Zaha could look to force an exit this summer, and his demeanour after bagging the winner yesterday speaks volumes.
Benrahma bagged 17 goals and assisted nine others in 46 appearances last term, and he shouldn’t have a problem hitting the ground running at Selhurst Park having been involved in 24 goals in 2018-19.
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