Chelsea target Benrahma closing in on Aguero feat

Said Benrahma maintained his excellent recent form on Saturday as he netted a hat-trick in Brentford’s 3-0 victory over Wigan Athletic in the Championship.

The Algeria winger, who has been increasingly linked with a move to the Premier League, troubled the Latics throughout as Brentford boosted their promotion hopes.

The hat-trick was Benrahma’s third of the campaign and, putting that achievement into context, only Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero now has more than the North African.

According to Opta, the Argentina striker has scored three times in one match on four occasions this term, with no player matching either him or Benrahma’s haul of three goals.

The victory means that, across their time in English football’s top four divisions, Brentford have now also won five consecutive matches without conceding a goal for the first occasion in their history.

It’s a statistic that underpins their promotion hopes, with the victory over beleaguered Wigan taking them up to 72 points.

Currently, in third, Brentford are two behind West Bromwich Albion—who occupy the second automatic promotion berth—having played a game more than Slaven Bilic’s side.

However, they at least look good for a play-off spot this term, and currently sit 11 points ahead of Derby County, outside the play-offs in seventh.

Benrahma has been the outstanding individual in a magnificent campaign, having scored 14 goals and contributed eight assists so far this term.

Overall, in his 76 outings for the Bees over the last two campaigns, he’s scored 24 goals and contributed 22 assists—numbers which demonstrate his effectiveness in the final third.

His form has prompted interest from the Premier League, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Leicester City among the clubs linked with the talented attacker.

According to The Sun, the Blues are in pole position to recruit the attacker this summer, with the tabloid noting earlier this month that Frank Lampard had already opened talks with Benrahma.

However, the report stated that Chelsea hadn’t yet submitted a formal bid for the wideman, and that it remains to be seen whether he would agree to leave Brentford.

While Benrahma might represent an ideal replacement for outgoing widemen Pedro and Willian, there is still the chance that he could seal promotion with the Londoners this term and opt to represent them in the top-tier next season.

The 24-year-old joined Brentford in 2018 from OGC Nice, having broken through with the Cote d’Azur heavyweights under Claude Puel during the 2013-14 season.