Dharmesh Sheth: West Ham United in talks to sign Aguerd and Areola for combined £28m
West Ham are continuing talks to sign Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Alphonse Areola and Rennes defender Nayef Aguerd for a combined fee of £28million, according to Sky Sports News journalist Dharmesh Sheth.
Areola, 29, spent the 2021/22 season on loan at the London Stadium and it is understood that the Hammers have the option to make his stay permanent for £10million.
Sheth adds that the Irons are also discussing an £18million swoop for 26-year-old Morocco centre-back Aguerd and that there’s a growing confidence that deal will get done.
Personal terms, however, are yet to be discussed.
“You could say one of the priority positions is in the striking department but they are looking at two other players,” Sheth said on Sky Sports News on 1 June, as shown by Football Daily’s Twitter account.
“The first one is that talks are continuing with Rennes over the signing of their central defender Nayef Aguerd.
“Now, the fee we believe is in the region of around £18million for him. Personal terms [are] not expected to be a problem [but] of course, still to be discussed.
“All parties though are increasingly confident that they can get a deal over the line for this one.”
Sheth added: “Another player West Ham are hoping to sign is a player they actually had last season. It’s goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
“Talks are continuing to make his loan move from Paris Saint-Germain into a permanent deal.
“Last summer, he signed on loan with an option to buy for around £10million.
“Talks are surrounding the personal terms, they’re trying to get that right because we think the price, as it stands, won’t move from the option price.”
Get them done
West Ham need to sign new players in most areas of the squad.
We’re not too sure on a £10million swoop for Areola.
It’s a lot of money to spend on a goalkeeper who failed to take Lukasz Fabianski’s spot in the starting line-up in the season that’s just finished.
Areola played just once in the Premier League and that was in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford in January.
David Moyes played him mainly in cup competitions and trusted him to play both semi-final legs against Frankfurt in the Europa League.
He’s a decent ‘keeper but £10million for a back-up is a bit steep unless the plan is for him to take Fabianski’s number one spot for the upcoming 2022/23 campaign.
As for Aguerd, signing a top-class left-sided centre-back is needed.
It remains to be seen how he’ll settle into English football but our centre-back signings have been fairly good in recent years so we’ve got high hopes for the Moroccan ace.
In other West Ham news, an offer has been made to make a behind-the-scenes appointment at the club.
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