Manager moves to publicly defend West Ham man – Told player to his face what needs to happen

Lyon need to adapt to Said Benrahma, who is yet to impress for the French side after joining from West Ham at the end of the January transfer window.

That’s according to manager Pierre Sage, who has moved to defend the forward as he looks to get going in France.

Benrahma was a late addition for Lyon in January, arriving after the window had closed after a computer problem at West Ham led to problems with his documentation.

FIFA eventually ratified the deal and allowed him to join after the window had closed, with the West Ham man arriving on loan until the end of the season with an option to make the move permanent.

He’s yet to establish himself as a starter at his new club with two appearances so far in Ligue 1 and just under 50% of the available minutes played in.

Both of those displays were less than stellar, to put it bluntly, leading to questions about the striker and whether he is the offensive reinforcement that Lyon needed.

Sage does not want to hear any criticism, though, and instead insists the rest of the team need to adapt to the West Ham loanee.

“He needs to play to see how his partners play, how the team plays, that is to say, to integrate what the staff asks. But every match is a step forward,” he said.

“I told him face to face that it is not only up to him to adapt, that it is also the team that must adapt to him.

“This is true for everyone. If each player entered the common framework, we would lose a little of their particular talent, and that is not the idea.”