Anthony Onifade

Tue 17 October 2023 21:10, UK

West Ham United return to Premier League action when they take on Aston Villa on Sunday 22 October and David Moyes could yet make a brutal squad decision on Nayef Aguerd.

West Ham United fans went through a whole range of emotions across the 90 minutes in their 2-2 draw against Newcastle United on 8 October and at half time it looked as if they would equal their best league start since the 1999-2000 season, putting themselves on track for 16 points after eight games with a win over a leggy Newcastle.

However, Moyes’ men were made to rue some costly errors at the back which led to Alexander Isak’s double and one man majorly guilty over Newcastle’s fight-back was Aguerd who again put in a worrying performance in front of his own fans.

Moroccan international, signed for £30m (Sky Sports) from Rennes in the summer of 2022 has endured a difficult past month in Moyes’ side, especially after gifting a needless penalty against Liverpool on 24 September when he tripped Mohamed Salah in the box.

It was reported that Moyes was already unhappy with Aguerd after his missed header let Julian Alvarez in to score as Manchester City inflicted the Irons’ first defeat of the campaign a week earlier at the London Stadium.

After what happened against Newcastle, Moyes could make the call to axe the Moroccan as he once again showcased his recent frailties which ultimately cost his team some crucial three points.

In his 90 minutes on the pitch, Aguerd failed to win a single tackle, or a single interception and only won one of his duels, lost possession of the ball 14 times, only successfully completed 62% of his passes and only completed 5 of his 17 long balls (SofaScore).

Aguerd has proven a crucial and effective component when playing out of the back since his move in 2022 but his performance against the Magpies was a complete nose dive from what he’s shown the West Ham United faithful previously.

While his current form may come as a huge worry for Moyes, he has a perfect and ready-made replacement right under his nose which should quell any fears.

Greek defender joined the Hammers for an initial £17 million with a further £2 million expected to be paid in add-ons [Sky Sports, 23 August] and so far he has been limited to start in the Carabao Cup and Europa League as Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd are preferred in the Premier League.

Across his two Europa League stars this year, the 25-year-old has been excellent both in defence and on the ball as the Hammers have maintained their unbeaten start to the European campaign. Mavropanos is yet to be dribbled past and has averaged more than four ball recoveries a match [Sofascore].

Also, the Greek international has used the international break to prove to Moyes why he deserves to usurp and unsettle his tried and trusted defensive partnership of Aguerd and Zouma.

Against Ireland on Friday (13 October), Mavropanos was again at his colossal best, winning 75% of his ground duels, 66% of his aerial duels, winning five of his total duels, whilst successfully completing seven of his long balls, registering six clearances and dribbled past not once all game [SofaScore] contributing heavily to a comfortable 2-0 win.

the Greek international has used the international break to prove to Moyes why he deserves to usurp and unsettle his tried and trusted defensive partnership.

Against Ireland on Friday (13 October), Mavropanos was again at his colossal best, winning 75% of his ground duels, 66% of his aerial duels, winning five of his total duels, whilst successfully completing seven of his long balls, registering six clearances and dribbled past not once all game [SofaScore] contributing heavily to a comfortable 2-0 win.

Mavropanos is certainly gearing up for a regular berth in the Premier League, and it is most likely to be at Aguerd’s expense for Sunday.

In other West Ham news, one European newspaper was left in awe at one London Stadium star’s performance over the international break this week.