Nayef Aguerd with West Ham teammates. With Friday’s transfer deadline approaching, West Ham United chiefs are reportedly in talks with Real Sociedad to show the door to one of their first-team players in the final hours of the summer transfer window.
It’s been a positive summer for West Ham, who are undoubtedly among the winners of the window. The likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean Clair-Todibo and Crysencio Summerville have all arrived, among others, to hand Julen Lopetegui the perfect start to life in London.
ExWHUEmployee drops news on once £140m ace joining West Ham on deadline day. The pressure will certainly be on the Spaniard now, however, and rightly so. What certainly helped ease that pressure was his side’s first three points of the season against Crystal Palace, which saw them bounce back from opening-day defeat against Aston Villa.
Alas, with so many fresh faces arriving, sales were always inevitable in the latter stages of the window and that’s exactly what the Hammers’ have focused on as the market comes to a close for the summer. The likes of James Ward-Prowse and Nayef Aguerd are among those potentially heading for the exit door, with the former reportedly closing in on a deal to join Nottingham Forest on loan.
Meanwhile, according to Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian, West Ham chiefs are in talks to loan Aguerd out to Real Sociedad in a deal that will see them get rid of the defender who has fallen down the pecking order amid the arrivals of Max Kilman and Todibo. Earning a reported £50,000-a-week, it’s no major surprise that West Ham are looking to show Aguerd the door, and one would presume Sociedad will cover some of those wages.
The centre-back was left out of Lopetegui’s squad in both Premier League games so far this season and suffered the same fate in the Hammers’ Carabao Cup victory over Bournemouth, creating the need for a late exit. With time running out though, Sociedad will undoubtedly need to act quickly to secure Aguerd’s signature.
“Quick” Aguerd is no longer needed at West Ham
It speaks volumes that Lopetegui failed to turn towards Aguerd even in the Carabao Cup. Suddenly, the defender finds himself in a fairly dire situation and in desperate need of a move away. Sociedad would be a solid next step too. The La Liga club are likely to compete for European football once again in Spain to hand the defender a sideways step over a downward move.
West Ham, meanwhile, have the chance to clear £50k-a-week from their wage bill by showing the door to a player who once found himself at the centre of David Moyes’ praise when he first arrived. Joining the Hammers in the summer of 2022, Aguerd battled back from injury to impress Moyes, who said via The Evening Standard: “I don’t want to put too much on him.
“I want to give him time. But he’s a good reader of the game. He’s quick and he’s good in the air. But because he’s not played any Premier League games, it’s difficult for us to give an overall judgement.
“I don’t think he’s ready for the Premier League games but we’ll see for this European games. He’s keen and he’s a good character. I’ve got to say, we think he’s a really stylish footballer.”
