(Football news) West Ham are closing in on their first signing of the season for a reported fee of €35 Million for Rennes defender Nayef Aguerd. David Moyes plans a significant summer rebuild as they get set to spend ahead of a second successive season in Europe.Talks have been progressing with the 26 year although no deal has been agreed till now, the Hammers are confident of sealing a deal in the coming days. Aguerd began his professional footballing career at FUS Rabat in Morocco, he went on to win the country’s top division in 2016 before making the move to Europe with French side Dijon two years later.
Like many of the Ligue 1’s most talented prospects, his talent wasn’t recognized at Dijon as he moved to the neighbouring city of Rennes, where a lot of eyebrows were raised when he was signed. He eventually went on to become a first choice in his final season at Dijon as he sealed a move to Rennes in the summer of 2020. Rennes, realised the potential in his abilities as it was a big gamble for them having just qualified for the Champions League for the first time, especially for a centre back who had managed only 25 league appearances in his two seasons in the French league. He was part of a Dijon team that had flirted precariously with relegation in each of those campaigns, but the Rennes scout saw a useful centre back even though Dijion finished bottom and slipped into Ligue 2 that season.
Aguerd quickly justified Rennes’ faith with an impressive start to the 2020/21 campaign, so much so that the club terminated the loan of Italian international Daniele Rugani midway through the season. This season he has maintained his form, and was one of Ligue 1’s most reliable defenders. He also played every minute for Morocco's World Cup qualifying campaign where they just conceded once in the group stage. Morocco impressed at the AFCON before falling to Mo Salah’s Egypt and then even qualified for this year's World Cup in Qatar via a play-off.
Aguerd is known for his dominant aerial presence, ability to read the game and sharp recovery speed. He may not be the most naturally gifted centre-back in terms of physicality but has improved on that part of his game year-on-year. Having played against Premier League opposition in meetings with Leicester and Tottenham in this season’s Europa Conference League group stage, as well as Chelsea in last season’s Champions League, he looked quite comfortable against the physically strong strikers like Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy. In possession, Aguerd has the ability to play from the back, something that this Rennes side under Bruno Genesio, have played in the Ligue 1, with only PSG scoring more than their 82 goals this season.
David Moyes has made the board take notice of a need to sign a left-footed centre-back in the summer as he looks to bring balance to his backline and also increase the quality and depth of his squad ahead of another long season in Europe. West Ham’s current fourth-choice Issa Diop is set to be sold and it looks like Aguerd fits the bill. While Being defensively astute he also managed to score seven times for Rennes from the back in the past two seasons, this means he will add to the Hammers’ potent set-piece threat too.
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