West Ham have paved the way to signing Jesse Lingard on loan from Manchester United by agreeing a permanent deal for Said Benrahma.
The Algerian, 25, has been on loan at West Ham from Brentford this season, taking up one of two spaces available for domestic loanees.
With defender Craig Dawson also on loan from Championship club Watford, the Hammers needed to act in order to create room for the imminent arrival of Lingard on loan from United.
Benrahma’s £5m loan deal came with an option to buy for an extra £20m, which West Ham have now exercised, bringing the total fee to £25m.
The winger was chased by a host of Premier League clubs during the summer following an outstanding 2019/20 campaign at Brentford, but he is yet to catch fire in the top-flight, despite showing flashes of talent.
talkSPORT understands the Hammers will now announce the loan deal for Lingard, 28, imminently.
The forward, who has been with the Red Devils for 21 years, has hardly featured for the club over the past 18 months.
Despite getting a contract extension in recent months, it seems clear that Lingard is not part of United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s long-term plans.
Tottenham, Sheffield United, Porto and Nice were all thought to be interested in signing Lingard on loan for the remainder of the season, but West Ham have won the race.
West Ham boss David Moyes hopes to have Lingard available for Sunday’s visit of Liverpool.
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