West Ham United should sign Moussa Niakhate as cheaper Nayef Aguerd alternative
West Ham United are trying to make early moves to improve their squad and centre-half is one area they are really focussing on to begin with.
Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth reported via his personal Twitter account on Thursday (16 June) that Stade Rennes defender Nayef Aguerd is at Rush Green for his medical ahead of his move to the London Stadium but that Newcastle United could hijack the move.
Should the Magpies somehow swoop in and take the Moroccan from under our nose, then we need to have the wheels in motion elsewhere so we can still get a good upgrade at the heart of the defence.
One of those might be Mainz’s French man-mountain Moussa Niakhate who the Hammers were previously keen on signing as The Telegraph reported on 4 April.
He only has one year left on his current contract with the Bundesliga club who may have to sell now to get their monetary value for him and one of the newest Premier League sides has clearly recognised that.
According to L’Equipe, Nottingham Forest are already in talks with the German club over a potential deal for the 26-year-old who could be available for just £8million.
When you really compare Aguerd and Niakhate, there is so little difference between the two of them that you can’t really justify one being worth so much more than the other.
But yet we are continuing to pursue the far more expensive option when the bargain deal is sitting there waiting for us to make a move.
It just seems bonkers that we could save so much of our transfer budget for this summer and end up with a player no worse than our original target but it seems like we are too far down the line to divert now.
In other West Ham news, the club have “nothing to add” when asked about the proposed Birmingham City takeover that may involve David Sullivan.
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