Journalist close to David Moyes claims West Ham has given up on elite centre-back
Journalist close to David Moyes claims West Ham have given up on Nayef Aguerd and want him out
One West Ham United player who has seriously damaged his reputation this season is £30m defender Nayef Aguerd.
West Ham fans thought the club had landed an elite level centre-back when they signed Nayef Aguerd from Rennes for £30m in the summer of 2022.
Injured minutes into his debut during a pre-season game at Rangers, the Hammers had to wait four months to see him in competitive action.
When they did, they were impressed. Cool, calm and with a lovely left-foot, Aguerd looked the part.
Aguerd struggling to cut it in Premier League
When he wowed with Morocco at the World Cup his value could have doubled.
There have been standout performances here and there. But fast forward just over a year and error-strewn display after error-strewn display has seen Aguerd’s place in the starting XI called into question.
With justification too.
When Aguerd made himself unavailable over Christmas due to illness before meeting up with Morocco for AFCON, Konstantinos Mavropanos came in and – bar a terrible mistake at Bristol – performed very well indeed.
Mavropanos hard done by after harsh Moyes call
He was West Ham’s best player in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth. And the defence with the big Greek in it had been the only area of the team performing to a decent standard since the turn of the year.
But David Moyes surprisingly dropped Mavropanos for Aguerd for the 3-0 defeat to Man United.
Fans felt it was a strange and very harsh decision.
Aguerd possesses a wand of a left foot. But he also has the propensity to make very costly errors on a regular basis – as Morocco found out when they were dumped out of AFCON by South Africa.
While he’s clearly not alone in his poor performances, the defence has been weaker with Aguerd in it.
Eleven goals conceded in three games since his return to the team is all the evidence needed on that front.
And many of them have been directly or partially Aguerd’s fault.
Aguerd is often far too weak, rash and slow to react to cut it in the Premier League.
The manager recently defended his decision to drop Mavropanos for Aguerd, saying he likes having a left-footed defender for balance. But he admitted the 26-year-old must improve aspects of his game.
West Ham want Aguerd out and ‘quick, strong’ star in
He has not stepped up since that warning.
And now a journalist close to Moyes claims West Ham have given up on Aguerd and want him out.
Scottish reporter Alan Nixon counts Moyes among his close contacts.
And The Sun journalist says the Hammers have lost patience waiting for Aguerd to prove he can cut it in the Premier League.
So they plan to sell him in the summer and spend big to sign a ‘quick and strong’ star as his replacement.
“West Ham are prepared to spend big on a centre half for next season and could cash in on Nayef Aguerd,” Nixon reports on his Patreon.
“David Moyes’s spies are putting a quick and tough defender on their wanted list and are scouring the globe for the answer.
“Moroccan international Aguerd could be sold abroad where he has admirers and a less frantic and physical level may suit him more.”
Supporters have been calling for Moyes to drop Aguerd and captain Kurt Zouma when West Ham face Ivan Toney’s Brentford on Monday night.
