Aguerd decision made as West Ham United make official announcement
West Ham United may have just reached a final decision on Nayef Aguerd’s future following speculation of a move away this summer.
The Moroccan spent the majority of the 2024/25 campaign out on loan at Real Sociedad, where he was part of an uncharacteristically poor Sociedad side.
Aguerd has been heavily linked with a summer departure from West Ham, who have already rejected a loan bid from Roma for the centre-back, as they had been keen to facilitate a permanent move instead.
Sunderland have also shown an interest in signing the 29-year-old, but now it looks as though his future could be about to take a completely unexpected twist.
Aguerd set to stay at West Ham after being handed number five shirt
West Ham’s pursuit of Albian Hajdari had seemingly sealed Aguerd’s fate, with the East Londoners set to bring a new, younger centre-half.
However, the former Rennes man could have just taken a huge step towards being part of Graham Potter’s first-team plans next term.
The Hammers confirmed in an official announcement on Thursday (24 July) that Aguerd will switch to the number five shirt, after it had recently been made vacant following Vladimir Coufal’s departure.
The defender is part of Potter’s squad that has travelled over to the USA for their upcoming pre-season friendlies, and he impressed in the win over Grasshopper last weekend.
Aguerd had previously worn the number 27 shirt at the club, but with him now taking on a much more prominent squad number in five, which has typically been worn by starting defenders, it seems highly likely that he will still be wearing the famous claret and blue shirt this season.
Potter will be keen to get a look at Aguerd
Potter is yet to see Aguerd feature in competitive action at West Ham, with his loan move agreed in the early stages of the Julen Lopetegui regime.
The former Chelsea and Brighton boss will surely be keen to get a look at every player that he has at his disposal before making a decision on their future, which likely explains his heavy involvement in the summer preparations so far.
The centre back’s new squad number is surely now an indication that Potter is keen to keep him around at the London Stadium.
It is highly unlikely that the manager and the club would have sanctioned that change of number if he was about to head elsewhere again, especially given the level of prominence that the number five shirt carries.
All the signs had pointed towards Aguerd heading for the exit within the next few weeks, but it now appears as though that won’t be the case.
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