Said Benrahma: Lyon hit out at West Ham United after loan deal for winger collapses on transfer deadline day

Lyon have blamed West Ham’s “profound lack of respect” for the collapse of Said Benhrama’s loan move to the French side.

The Algerian playmaker had been linked with a switch to the struggling Ligue 1 side in the week building up to deadline day, as they looked to strengthen the squad in a bid to remain in the top division.

A loan deal had appeared set to go through for the 28-year-old but after the deadline passed, West Ham said that the transfer was "unable to be completed before 11pm".

Lyon issued a statement criticising West Ham for their handling of the transfer: "Olympique Lyonnais were delighted to welcome Said Benrahma to Lyon this Thursday to finalize his transfer from West Ham.

"The two clubs had signed a temporary transfer agreement, and Olympique Lyonnais had obtained approval from the DNCG to allow the transfer to take place smoothly and transparently.

"However, at the start of the evening, while Olympique Lyonnais had entered all the administrative data on the dedicated FIFA platform (FIFA TMS), West Ham had never launched the slightest technical procedure on its part, despite the repeated reminders from the OL and continuous mutual telephone communication.

"In the absence of this reciprocal action on the part of the English club and following this incomprehensible behaviour, raising questions, the international transfer certificate could not be requested before closing time.

"Olympique Lyonnais deeply regrets this situation and this decision, demonstrating a profound lack of respect on the part of West Ham towards the institution and the player.

"The club reserves the right to initiate all appropriate procedures necessary to validate the transaction at a later date, and to hold West Ham responsible if necessary."

Benrahma played 52 times for David Moyes' side last year but has made just 13 appearances in the league this season, and did not go to the Africa Cup of Nations with his home country.

There was also a lack of clarity over Pablo Fornals’ move to Real Betis for around £6.8 million, with the midfielder also struggling for game time this season ahead of Mohammed Kudus and James Ward-Prowse in the summer.

Speaking about Fornals' situation after West Ham's 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Thursday, Moyes told a press conference: "We were planning to have Pablo involved tonight. It’s a strange day to have a game and the deadline, especially when it looks like we’ve possibly done some late business.

"I don’t want to be moaning about it but you would think [the transfer window] could have been wrapped up last night. It’s our own fault but in this country the culture is we do so many deals on the last day. Really, you should be doing deals on the first day, not the last day.

"This window has been a really slow burner and because of that we’ve been left with a couple of things getting done on the last day, on a game night, which we’ve now had twice this season.”

Betis CEO Ramon Alarcon hoped that the Fornals could still be pushed through, blaming a "computer problem" with the Premier League club.

He said: "There was a last-minute problem with Fornals, we think it was a computer problem. Betis sent all the documents correctly and on time and it seems West Ham had a computer problem.

"It wasn't just with Betis, it was with other deals. We hope that it gets resolved in the next few days."

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