According to O Jogo (via The Sun), West Ham United are among three Premier League clubs interested in the services of Yacine Brahimi in the upcoming transfer window.
The FC Porto attacker has reached an impasse with the club regarding a contract extension and as a result, the Portuguese giants are keen on selling him for a fee in January rather than see him leave on a free transfer in the summer.
West Ham, in particular, will be eager to reinforce their attack and thus, Brahimi has been identified as an ideal candidate.
Brahimi could be an ideal alternative to Andriy Yarmolenko, who will face a long spell on the sidelines following an Achilles injury.
The Ukrainian international played a key role for West Ham going forward, with his offensive mentality as well as his tendency to take on defenders in the final third.
Similarly, Brahimi is someone who can run at opposing defenders and has averaged four dribbles per game, more than any other player in Porto this season.
Brahimi’s dribble success rate of 65% is also significantly higher than Marko Arnautovic (55%) and Felipe Anderson (45%) while Yarmolenko has attempted only three dribbles in total this season.
Furthermore, much like Yarmolenko and Anderson, Brahimi is an inverted winger, meaning he likes to cut into central areas of the pitch rather than get to the by-line and provide crosses like a traditional winger. Therefore, he is a tailor-made fit for Pellegrini’s offensive game plan.
The Algerian is physically strong as well, thanks to his bulky figure, which makes him a difficult player to push off the ball. That will come in handy in the Premier League.
Brahimi is also an experienced attacker, having made 182 appearances for Porto in all competitions while also making over 50 appearances in the Spanish La Liga as well as French Ligue 1.
The Algerian has just over six months remaining on his current contract and he can prove to be a bargain for the Hammers as they will hope to impress in the second half of their Premier League campaign.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored
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