Since Gary O’Neil joined the club in the summer, Wolverhampton Wanderers have become a difficult side to face.
The Old Gold are currently 12th in the Premier League, which is an improvement considering they were in a relegation scrap at one point last season before Julen Lopetegui took over.
Nevertheless, Wolves are keen to strengthen their squad this January, with a move for an attacker on the cards.
Wolves linked with Premier League winger
According to journalist Santi Aouna of Foot Mercato, Wolves are interested in signing Said Benrahma from West Ham.
However, they will have to battle the likes of Fulham, Brentford, and Lyon, who are all keen to acquire the attacker’s signature.
A permanent move away is the likely outcome, but the Algerian is estimated to be worth £17m by CIES Football Observatory.
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How Said Benrahma compares to Pablo Sarabia
Despite only moving to the Midlands this time last year from PSG, Pablo Sarabia is being linked with a move away from Wolves, with Real Sociedad particularly interested in the forward.
The Spaniard has scored one goal – that beautiful volley against Spurs – and registered eight assists, but he has failed to nail down a spot in the starting XI this season, starting 11 of Wolves’ 23 games across all competitions.
Therefore, Wolves could look to cash in on the 31-year-old and use those funds to help secure the signing of Benrahma, who is in a similar position to Sarabia at the Hammers.
The ex-Brentford forward has been used sparingly throughout this Premier League season by David Moyes, often being used as a substitute to either rest a key player or spark a comeback.
The 28-year-old has only featured 13 times in the top flight, starting five matches, and boasting an average of 47 minutes per game.
Yet in truth, he has failed to live up to his £30m price tag, contributing to just 43 goals in 154 matches for West Ham. Despite that poor goal-scoring record, he still ranks highly compared to positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues for some important metrics.
Benrahma’s Stats |
||
---|---|---|
Stats (per 90) |
Benrahma |
Percentile |
Progressive carries |
4.78 |
Top 18% |
Progressive passes received |
9.95 |
Top 18% |
Shots total |
2.89 |
Top 19% |
Carries into penalty area |
2.32 |
Top 13% |
Touches (Att pen) |
4.95 |
Top 24% |
Stats via FBref |
According to FBref’s similar profile model, Benrahma shares some attributes with Jack Grealish. The first similarity is that they’re both an out ball for their side, as they like to stay wide on the left touchline.
Comparatively, the Man City star ranks in the top 15% for both progressive carries and progressive passes received in the Premier League, and Benrahma also performs well in those categories.
Furthermore, the West Ham attacker is also direct and loves to drive into the penalty box, where he can unleash a strike at goal, as displayed by his shots total, his carries into the penalty area, and his touches in the box. This also allows him to thrive on the counterattack, which would make him fit in perfectly at Wolves.
Overall, Benrahma has a tremendous amount of “quality,” as per scout Antonio Mango, and a change of environment could see him revive his career. Based on the improvement of Wolves as a team, it is safe to assume that O’Neil would get the best out of the winger.