Brentford playmaker Said Benrahma’s irresistible performance against Fulham in the Carabao Cup displayed all the credentials David Moyes needed to urge West Ham United to strike a late-window deal.

What’s the word?

Benrahma lit up the Brentford Community Stadium on Thursday night with a performance that will be sure to have further advertised his talents to the myriad of sides to have been tirelessly linked this summer.

West Ham are one outfit who were thought to be keen, but financial difficulties at the London Stadium ensured a move was scrubbed off the table in September even after the £18million sale of Grady Diangana and the Championship outfit lowering their asking price to £20m.

The Bees had previously been keen to land £30m for their star playmaker, who was also of interest to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, after he tore up the 2019/20 Championship campaign with 17 goals and nine assists from 43 regular-season appearances before creating a further effort in the Play-Offs.

West Ham defended the club’s decision to end their interest in Benrahma as the Irons were prioritising other areas of the pitch, namely the defence, as funds were tight having failed to offload Felipe Anderson and Manuel Lanzini.

But with a deal for Vladimir Coufal now over the line, efforts must return to Benrahma’s situation after Brentford boss Thomas Frank confirmed the three-time international will remain on the market until the window slams shut.

“Am I confident he will stay? I'm confident that I would love him to stay, and I would love to have him,” said Frank, via quotes by BirminghamLive. “But I don't know. Honestly. If the price is right, we are open to selling, but if not we will be happy for him to stay.

“Either we are going to get a top price or we are going to keep one of the best players in the Championship. Has he added a few million to his price [against Fulham]? 100 per cent! And I must say that Said has been bang-on in terms of attitude and being a top professional. That's just the transfer window.”

Gold and Sullivan must dig deep

Benrahma’s performance against Fulham displayed all the credentials Moyes needed to put the Algerian’s case to Gold and Sullivan again, and this time make the West Ham ownership dig deep into their pockets and fund a move for the 25-year-old.

Marcus Forss may have opened the scoring shortly before half-time, but the second period belonged to Benrahma after his brazen turn of skill that Jamie Redknapp described as ‘delicious’ and a ‘piece of genius’ opened the door to kill the game with a stunning effort from the edge of the box placed into the bottom corner.

His game-winning goal was not the only standout aspect of the OGC Nice product’s display, either, as SofaScore note his game to have been near-perfect with a 9.3/10 rating having won a staggering 12 of 13 ground duels, won nine of his 10 attempted dribbles, scored twice from two shots on target, played one key ball from 11 accurate passes and helped defensively with two tackles and an interception.

It is no wonder why Premier League clubs are courting Benrahma, and it will be no surprise that Gold and Sullivan would regret seeing the 25-year-old join a rival side this summer.

AND in other news, West Ham have submitted an offer to sign David Moyes’ top striker target.