David Moyes must start Said Benrahma for West Ham against Fulham at the London Stadium tomorrow.
Read also: Some West Ham fans delighted that 28-year-old who’s ‘not good enough’ could be sold
The Hammers boss signed the 25-year-old Algerian on a season-long loan from Brentford for a £4 million fee. West Ham have an obligation to buy the winger for a further £20 million plus £5 million in add-ons next summer (The Guardian).
Benrahma has had to make do with just one cameo appearance from the bench so far, however. He came on for around six or seven minutes away at Liverpool last weekend.
The 25-year-old was lacking in match fitness, so Moyes easing him in is understandable.
But the Algeria international, who earns around £50k-a-week (Claret and Hugh) absolutely must be selected to start against Fulham on Saturday. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that Pablo Fornals will have to be dropped.
The Spaniard could move into central midfield alongside Tomas Soucek, with Declan Rice dropping into central defence. Fornals’ creativity and guile could be vital against Fulham, considering the fact that we should have more of the ball and won’t be playing a deep block in our own half for 75% of the game.
Benrahma must be unleashed
The West Ham ace scored three goals and provided two assists when playing for Brentford against Fulham.
The 25-year-old regularly had Ola Aina on toast. And the prospect of that mach up this weekend should surely make Moyes’s mind up for him.
If Benrahma does start against Fulham it will be absolutely vital that he stays close to Sebastien Haller, in order to help get the best out of the Frenchman.
Our great start to the season will mean nothing if we don’t beat Fulham tomorrow. And starting the Algerian flyer will give us the best chance of doing just that.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
