Darren Bent has voiced his surprise at Leeds United’s decision not to sign Brentford forward Said Benrahma to add cover in midfield for Pablo Hernandez.
Benrahma was touted as one of Marcelo Bielsa’s potential targets earlier in the transfer window, with reports suggesting that key figures at Elland Road were known to admire the Algerian and that the 25-year-old was a preferred option over the likes of Emi Buendia.
But no deal to bring the winger to West Yorkshire has yet been sought, leaving Bielsa with the same wide options and attacking midfielders that secured our promotion to the Premier League as Championship title-winners.
Bent seems to suggest this is an error on the club’s behalf as Hernandez will require greater support this season than he has in the past, potentially due to the 35-year-old featuring in 36 of our league games last term between spells on the sidelines injured.
“I honestly thought Benrahma would have been the one,” Bent told Football Insider. “I thought they would’ve got him signed up straight away, but they haven’t done that yet, they haven’t managed to do it.
“It’s going to be interesting, but I like what Leeds are doing in the transfer market. They’re getting one or two players in, they’ll be disappointed they didn’t get Ben White but they’ve signed [Robin] Koch from Freiburg.
“It’s that Bielsa factor, would they be able to attract these players without him? I’m not sure.”
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While Bent is right to suggest Leeds ought to have sought cover in midfield for Hernandez, his inclination that Benrahma would have been the ideal option is currently misplaced.
Bielsa and Orta are working to sign certain players and it appears that is currently Udinese star Rodrigo de Paul, with talks reportedly underway to secure an agreement for their €40m (£35.9m) valued winger who also has his potential suitors elsewhere in Europe.
If a deal for De Paul cannot be secured, or he opts for a move elsewhere, attentions can then return to Benrahma, as it appears the other sides said to be interested in a deal have thus far been unwilling to pay what Brentford are requesting.
West Ham United and Aston Villa are two sides who have been in communication with the Championship side to discuss a deal, but both are currently refusing to pay £20m for the Algerian despite the Irons parting with Grady Diangana and the Bees taking £10m off their asking price.
Benrahma would certainly be an interesting player to target if De Paul is off the table, having provided 17 goals, eight assists and created four further big chances to score in the Championship last season, while averaging 62.1 touches, 3.1 successful dribbles, 5.4 ground duels won and 2.1 key passes a game, per SofaScore.