West Ham are preparing for a big name club to seal the signing of a "wonderful" Irons "talent" for around £12.3 million this summer, according to reports this week.
West Ham exits expected this summer
Alongside manager David Moyes as thing stand, with his contract looking set to expire at the end of this season, there are other figures at West Ham who could also depart east London.
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Both Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma have been regularly linked with moves away to Saudi Arabia, while star midfielder Lucas Paqueta is rumoured to be back on Man City's radar ahead of a potential summer swoop.
There is also the small matter of expiring player contracts alongside Moyes, with a fair few currently heading into their final months as a West Ham player.
Vladimir Coufal (option for a further year)
Michail Antonio (option for a further year)
Divin Mubama (option for a further year)
Ben Johnson
Aaron Cresswell
Joseph Anang
Angelo Ogbonna
The likes of Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell appear set to bid farewell to the Hammers soon, while young defender Ben Johnson is apparently nearing a Bosman move to Crystal Palace.
“Talks with Johnson have proven unsuccessful,” stated ExWHUemployee on The West Ham Way Podcast last week.
“He’s been linked now with an exit and Crystal Palace are leading the way. Ledley King though, who is a relative of Johnson’s, is trying to engineer a move to Spurs.
“At this stage though it appears an agreement between the player and the south London club is at quite an advanced stage, which could sadly see Johnson head south of the river this summer, after 17 years at West Ham.”
Another player who is firmly up for an exit nominee is winger Said Benrahma. The Algerian ace is currently out on loan at Ligue 1 giants Lyon, after a real bit of January deadline day drama over his move to France.
West Ham expecting Lyon to seal £12.3 million Benrahma deal
According to Football Insider and journalist Wayne Veysey, West Ham fully expect Lyon to sign Benrahma permanently for £12.3 million – as is the buy-option clause in his contract.
The 28-year-old is enjoying his time at Lyon and is settled after returning to France, with "sources" telling FI that Moyes' side are preparing for Lyon to trigger his buy-option after a promising start to life across the channel.
Benrahma has attracted mixed opinion during his time at West Ham, as the tricky forward could turn it on in flashes but arguably wasn't given consistent enough opportunities by Moyes. However, the former Brentford star did earn a few real admirers at Rush Green.
“At the time I thought it was stupid because there was a young player everyone was raving about in the exact same position, and they sold him and brought in Benrahma and I’m thinking really," said Frank McAvennie to West Ham Zone last October.
“But he proved me wrong, he’s a great talent, a wonderful, wonderful talent. So it just shows you David Moyes knows what he’s doing.”
