Said Benrahma divided opinion among some fans at West Ham and continues to stir debate more than a year on from his departure.
It is easy to forget Said Benrahma only left West Ham on a permanent basis in the summer.
The Algerian joined Lyon on a £5m loan last February after some late deadline day controversy.
The French club then made the move permanent for an additional £12.3m in the summer.
Pablo Fornals was also let go last winter.
It was a double departure which left a big hole in the dressing room and on the left side of West Ham’s attack.
Benrahma divided opinion among West Ham fans
Crysencio Summerville was brought in to fill that hole and has excited West Ham fans and new boss Graham Potter.
But the Hammers will have to wait until next season to see the best of the Dutchman after he was criminally underused by Julen Lopetegui and has since suffered a serious hamstring injury.
He may have divided opinion among some over his end product, but West Ham will never forget Benrahma.
His penalty in Prague showed nerves of steel as he scored from the spot in the Europa Conference League final triumph over Fiorentina.
New Benrahma revelation raises major concern for West Ham
The 29-year-old has since been moved on to Saudi second division side Neom.
But he is still causing debate back in east London.
Because a shocking new Benrahma revelation has raised a major concern for West Ham.
There is something about wingers and West Ham in recent years.
From Felipe Anderson to Benrahma and now Mohammed Kudus, they have struggled to get the entire fanbase on their side.
Much of that is down to inconsistent levels of performance of course.
Kudus has been guilty of that after a stunning debut season after arriving from Ajax.
The Ghanaian has seen his form fall off a cliff this season with just three goals and two assists in 25 appearances.
Kudus looked back to his best in West Ham’s win at Arsenal.
But he then struggled against Leicester.
Kudus compared to ex West Ham duo and results are shocking
Had you asked West Ham fans who was the more effective player between Kudus and Benrahma last season, it would have been a no-contest.
Similarly with £35m Brazilian Anderson before them.
That debate has now been settled, though.
A statistical comparison of Benrahma and Kudus has been compiled by Hammers Hub.
They have also compared Anderson to Kudus as well across a series of key metrics.
And Benrahma comes out on top in almost every single one, bar take-ons.
There is much hype around Kudus – who stands out because of his strength and dribbling ability.
But West Ham’s former wingers Benrahma and Anderson may be among the most underrated and disrespected the club has had based on the new evidence.
Benrahma and Anderson both better for Hammers than Kudus
Benrahma has more progressive passes, passes into the penalty area, passes into the final third, chances created, assists, carries, crosses and shots than Kudus per 90 minutes in the Premier League for West Ham.
They are level for progressive carries and Kudus is marginally better than Benrahma for carries into the final third and goals (0.23 to 0.22 per game).
Even more shocking is the fact Anderson also beats Kudus across most categories. And by some distance too.
Stats show West Ham face tough ask to get big money for Kudus
It all begs a very worrying question for West Ham.
Potter and new head of recruitment Kyle Macauley face having to sell players to be able to make signings this summer.
It is widely accepted that Kudus and others will be sold in order to fund deals.
This revelation that the likes of Benrahma and Anderson were both better performers for West Ham than Kudus highlights a major problem for the club.
Kudus has an £85m release clause in his contract.
That figure looked liked it might be too cheap after his scintillating debut campaign.
But Kudus has been so poor this term with his end product way down, that West Ham will be hard-pushed to make a big profit on their original £38.5m outlay.
Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City and Saudi clubs have all been linked.
The Hammers will hope for a bidding war – but can they really expect one when Benrahma and Anderson are statistically more effective than him?
Expectations over his sale may have to be dramatically adjusted.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
