West Ham have fallen behind in the race to sign free agent Yacine Brahimi. According to La Gazette du Fennec, Arsenal have started advanced negotiations to bring him to North London.
Brahimi is available on a free transfer this summer after leaving FC Porto. Several clubs have been lining up bargain swoops for the Algeria international.
This report claims Brahimi will demand a £3.5m signing-on fee from Arsenal but considering they are not paying a transfer fee, this is feasible.
West Ham and Everton are reportedly keen and Brahimi also had offers from Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. Nice are the other team credited with an interest but Arsenal appear to be in pole position.
Yacine Brahimi would have been an unnecessary luxury
While missing out on this free transfer will be a blow for West Ham, it will only be a minor disappointment. Brahimi plays on the wing and this is not an area which needs immediate attention.
Manuel Pellegrini’s attacking midfield department is brimming with talent. With Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko, Michail Antonio, Grady Diangana and Robert Snodgrass competing for starts, the competition is healthy.
Nathan Holland and Marcus Browne will also be eager to impress Pellegrini in pre-season and convince him to promote them. While Brahimi offers quality, he would be an unnecessary luxury.
With fairly sizeable wage demands and age no longer on his side, the 29-year-old is not quite the catch he was a few years back. West Ham are better off focusing their finances elsewhere.
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