West Ham United completely changed their defensive line during the summer transfer window.
Of all the areas in the Hammers’ squad, their defence was the area that needed the most improvement.
Just last season the club had the fourth-worst defensive record in the league so it came as no surprise to see both Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma exit the London Stadium.
Although the duo weren’t at their best last term, the former seems to have really hit the ground running at Real Sociedad.
Estadio Deportivo reported on 22 September that the Morocco international had been the “most outstanding player” within Sociedad’s team since arriving on loan, with the news outlet even describing him as an “elite level” defender.
Tim Steidten made wrong decision for West Ham United on Nayef Aguerd
Throughout the entirety of the summer transfer window, it felt like both Aguerd and Kurt Zouma were being linked with a new club.
While their performances weren’t the best last term, it felt a bit harsh to see both players forced out of the London Stadium.
Although the Hammers brought in both Max Kilman and £34million man Jean Clair-Todibo [Florian Plettenberg, 9 August] over the summer, Julen Lopetegui only has three senior centre-backs within his ranks.
In fact, the Hammers were even looking into the free agent market to sign a backup, with John Egan playing a trial game for the club [Sean Whetstone, 5 September]
Aguerd’s forced exit likely wasn’t just because of his poor form as his wages were fairly high, but if Lopetegui was looking at free agents, it doesn’t make much sense for the club to have got rid of both their centre-backs.
His recent form compared to Kilman’s and Konstantinos Mavropanos’ is incomparable and it feels as if Steidten has been made to look silly once again by forcing Aguerd out, especially with their recent form.
