Said Benrahma has to make a big statement for West Ham United against Watford in the Premier League tonight.
The 26-year-old arrived at the London Stadium on loan from Brentford in October 2020.
He ended up joining on a permanent £25 million deal in January 2021, having spent the previous three months at the London Stadium on a £4 million loan deal (Eurosport).
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We have seen glimpses of Said Benrahma at his best for West Ham but he has been far too inconsistent in a Hammers shirt.
The Algeria international’s numbers this season haven’t been bad, far from it in fact. The winger has bagged eight goals and four assists in 29 outings for the Hammers in all competitions (Transfermarkt).
Too often though, Benrahma seems to go missing and doesn’t influence games in the way that he should, what with his talent.
The Algerian has the kind of talent and technical ability needed to takes games by the scruff of the neck. He just doesn’t do that enough in my opinion.
Benny will often just pass the ball backwards rather than turn and run at opposing defenders.
His performance in the second-half against Kidderminster was more like it. He was constantly trying to make things happen when in possession and always offered an outlet for our defenders and midfielders.
The former Brentford ace needs to show that kind of drive and intent every time he plays for the Hammers.
Said Benrahma needs to make a big statement for West Ham against Watford
If Benrahma isn’t driving at defenders and trying to make things happen, there’s actually no point in him playing. Perhaps David Moyes needs to give him more of a free role but it’s not in the Scot’s nature to give one of his players a free pass from putting in a shift.
So how do West Ham get more out of Said?
We mentioned his stats earlier. Whilst they’re decent, he should be doing so much better with the talent he possesses.
Benrahma should be averaging at least a goal or an assist every 1.5 games or so.
Who knows, perhaps Moyes didn’t handle Benrahma correctly during his first season at the London Stadium when he kept criticising him rather than backing him and trusting him to be the mercurial match-winner that we believe he can be.
We’ve reached a crucial point of the season now. West Ham cannot continually rely on Declan Rice to carry us. Benrahma is good enough to win matches on his own. He hasn’t really done that since joining the Hammers.
Moyes should trust Benny to produce the goods more but the 26-year-old needs to take on more responsibility himself as well. He needs to show for the ball more and be braver when in possession.
It’s time for Benrahma to step up to another level.
And a match-winning performance against Watford tonight would be a great way for him to make a timely statement to Moyes and the West Ham fans who still doubt him.
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