West Ham United have offered to take Lyon playmaker Clement Grenier on loan according to recent reports. Slaven Bilić knows that the Hammers would be needing some quality in the middle of the park which will allow the team to build the game without having to rely entirely on Dimitri Payet.
This season the London club has struggled to be fluent in the forward areas with the midfield play being almost non-existent other than the actions of Payet. Grenier is open to a move away from Lyon in January on loan which is why the offer from West Ham would be very tempting.
Grenier is player who knows how quickly things can change as he had already experienced it. Considered as one of the most efficient midfielders in world football in 2012/13, the Frenchman made a huge impact for his club producing some wonderful displays. Within a year, having suffered an injury, the 25-year-old was sidelined and lost his form which he since has never managed to fully regain. Since the 2014/15 season, the midfielder has played only 23 matches in total.
This season, Grenier has played only 30 minutes of top flight football with 4 substitute appearances for Lyon. At the moment, it is hard for him to get an extended run in the Lyon first team with all the options the club has ahead of him. West Ham can provide the chance of an extended run in the first team which is what the player needs badly especially as he is again managing to stay relatively injury free.
Still only 25, the Frenchman has already shown in the past that he can be very effective on the pitch with his gameplay. A player who can build the play in the middle with his passing with having the uncanny knack of producing some stunning long-range strikes from open play or from the set pieces, in many ways the Lyon midfielder will help West Ham be more fluent in the attacking phase.
Slaven Bilić managed to pull off a wonderful coup when he bought Payet for £10.7m. The former Marseille man, who is now a talisman, turned around the fortunes of the club almost single-handedly last season. While the team failed to deliver what was expected so far this season, Payet has been the only one who looked like playing at the same level as he did last season scoring a goal and providing 5 assists in total.
The forward line looks to depend on Payet for service and in case of a deadlock, he is the one expected to produce the moments of inspiration. Grenier’s inclusion can help ease the pressure and weight of expectation of Payet and if the Lyon man finds his form then the Hammers would have the prospect of two hugely talented midfielders showing their trade in the middle of the pitch.
The entertainment would be worth the money but most importantly the team would increase their chances of securing maximum points from their fixtures which is an absolute necessity.
