Europa Conference League-bound West Ham is closing in on a deal for Stade Rennais and Moroccan international center-back Nayef Aguerd.
According to reports by The Telegraph’s Sam Dean, the Hammers are within striking distance of securing the 26-year-old Kénitra-native as their first signing of the summer window as David Moyes looks to bring in vital defensive reinforcements ahead of the 2022-23 Premier League season.
West Ham ready to bolster defence with capture of Rennes centre-back Nayef Aguerd. @SamJDean reports. https://t.co/zFSykFHhVw
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) June 15, 2022
West Ham suffered mightily last season regarding a lack of depth across a number of key areas in the first-team squad, including being thin in the heart of the defense.
That deficiency was exacerbated when key defender Kurt Zouma went down injured and subsequently missed out on ten matches between 6 December and 17 January during the busiest part of the domestic calendar for West Ham.
Adding Aguerd to the Hammers ranks would plug a huge hole in the team under Moyes, who at the time of writing, can count on just the aforementioned Zouma as well as veteran duo Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson, in addition to Issa Diop and youngster Aji Alese.
The same report in the Telegraph does mention that any completed deal for Aguerd could trigger the departure of Diop, however, with the Frenchman having just one year left on his deal at the London Stadium on the back of still having failed to truly nail down a first-choice role for the Premier League outfit.
Aguerd is said to set West Ham back around £25million but could be seen as a very prudent investment by the club after the Moroccan has been a strong performer for the Brittany-based side after making a combined 80 appearances in all competitions across the last two seasons.
Viewed as an upgrade on Ogbonna and Dawson and with experience in both the Champions League and Conference League, West Ham could have a very good under-the-radar signing on their hands.
