The perfect Jack Grealish replacement is right under Aston Villa's nose
Saïd Benrahma, who was signed by Dean Smith for Brentford for around £1.5 million, is attracting considerable attention. Simon Yaffe believes Villa should be paying very close attention
by Simon YaffeNot many batted an eyelid when Saïd Benrahma swapped Nice for Brentford in the summer of 2018.
But, nearly two years later, the Algerian, who was signed by then-manager Dean Smith for around £1.5 million, is attracting considerable attention from numerous Premier League clubs.
In his first season in England, he hit double figures in terms of goals and provided a league-high 14 assists.
This term, until the season shut down in March, he had scored 10 goals and assisted seven from 34 Championship matches, as he aims to fire Brentford to the top flight for the first time in the Londoners’ history.
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What is even more impressive is that he missed the club’s entire pre-season through injury and only returned to the starting line-up in mid-August.
And, with Jack Grealish consistently linked with a move away from Aston Villa, Benrahma may be the perfect replacement.
Of course, Villa manager Smith knows the winger well, having taken him to Griffin Park.
Benrahma was heavily linked with a move to Villa Park last summer, as the club was making plans for their return to the Premier League after a three-year exile.
That did not come to fruition but should Villa idol Grealish leave, then Smith may well join the bidding for the 24-year-old, where he could link up with former Brentford teammate Ezri Konsa.
Benrahma plays as a left winger as part of Brentford manager Thomas Frank’s 4-3-3 formation, but, like Grealish, he often drifts to central areas in a bid to have more of an impact on the game.
He is brilliant with the ball at his feet, regularly gliding past defenders and getting himself out of tight spaces when faced with a marker or two.
Benrahma is also equally as comfortable on the opposite flank, a position he played in for Nice and while on loan with French clubs Angers, Gazelec Ajaccio and Chateauroux.
Villa’s tactics have been built around their captain, whether Smith decides to go with a 4-2-3-1 or a 3-4-3, the two formations he has rotated with this season.
And Benrahma, who has been capped three times for his country, would not have a problem fitting in to either of those game-plans.
He often draws fouls under pressure, as Grealish does on a regular basis, something he has had to begrudgingly accept in the Premier League.
Benrahma’s goalscoring record is better than Grealish’s, but, of course, the quality of defender in the top-flight is better than in the Championship.
What also may interest Villa supporters is Benrahma’s relationship with team-mate Rico Henry.
The left-back, who was also brought to Brentford by Smith, is known to show his attacking instincts, overlapping on the outside, which means that Benrahma is given more of a licence to get into central positions, where he can cause numerous problems for the opposition’s backline.
That tactic could work, too, with Villa left-back Matt Targett, who also likes to play on the overlap, especially when Anwar El Ghazi is in front of him.
There will be an array of players whom Smith will have targeted in case Grealish does depart his boyhood club.
Benrahma, his former charge at Brentford, should be at the top of that list.