Nayef Aguerd ‘open’ to move as West Ham United defender lined up for Rennes return, Arsenal and Tottenham men also targeted
Rennes want to bring Nayef Aguerd back from West Ham and the defender is “open” to a return, according to Foot Mercato.
The French outlet reported via their website on Monday (21 August) that the Moroccan international was lined up for a return to the Ligue 1 side on loan after the Hammers went after Harry Maguire from Manchester United, and has been mooted as a possibility amid discussions with the Irons over Jeremy Doku.
Aguerd, 27, is apparently prepared to head back to Ligue 1 after his former side “positioned themselves” to land him, although they are also targeting Arsenal’s Rob Holding and Tottenham’s Davinson Sanchez for the defence, having “decided to be very active in the transfer market this summer”.
Aguerd scored the opener and then was sent off in the 3-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday but is set to face more competition with the arrival of Konstantino Mavropanos, after a deal was reached with Stuttgart to make him the third signing of the summer in place of the collapsed Maguire move.
The Irons have been attempting to hijack Manchester City’s move for winger Doku, although the treble-winners appear to be set to land him [Sky Sports, 21 August].
Surely not
West Ham have already sent one big-money signing from last summer back to the league they got him from in Gianluca Scamacca, but it would be a major surprise if the same happened with Aguerd.
David Moyes is just about to strengthen his unit with the move for Mavropanos so to then lose one of his current starters would undercut that.
Aguerd will need replacing for his suspension but, unlike Scamacca, his time at the London Stadium has been a comparative success so far.
Perhaps if it was the difference between getting a deal done in the pursuit of Doku or not then it could be on the cards, but if City are in line to win there it takes that off the table.
It is true that the Moroccan faces greater competition with the new arrival, but with the amount of injuries the centre-back grouping has suffered, including to Aguerd himself last season, there should be plenty of opportunities to go around.
A loan exit would make even less sense since he is a regular in the starting line up so this seems like a very long shot at this stage, no matter how active Rennes are being.
As fast as the club line up late-window additions currently they are faced with the threat of further exits, with Lucas Paqueta’s move to Manchester City only being stalled at the last by an FA investigation around betting rules, and the likes of Michail Antonio and Pablo Fornals also wanted elsewhere.
In other West Ham news, a big-money move is being pushed for at the London Stadium as they know they face hijack from multiple clubs.