Pete Hanson

Tue 24 October 2023 11:40, UK

West Ham had an agreement in place to see Nayef Aguerd back to Stade Rennais this summer but manager David Moyes vetoed the deal.

That is according to the Twitter account @ActuSRFC_, which has almost 30,000 followers, who credited journalist François Rauzy with revealing the information on his radio show Le lundi, c’est Rauzy.

The tweet, posted on Tuesday (24 October), translates as: “Nayef Aguerd was not far from signing for Stade Rennais this summer.

“There was an agreement between the clubs. The player agreed to return but the West Ham coach vetoed it according to information from @RauzyFrancois.”

The Hammers forked out a reported £30million to sign Aguerd from the Ligue 1 side in June 2022 (Sky Sports). He has been linked with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City since the last window closed (The Independent), while a switch to Saudi Arabia was also mooted (Goal).

Might be time to cash in

On the face of it, cashing in on another star after Declan Rice already left and Lucas Paqueta nearly quit for Manchester City would seem a foolhardy idea wouldn’t it?

But it comes to Aguerd it might not be the worst idea. Aguerd was signed probably with an eye on playing more progressive, playing from the back football, a transition that unsurprisingly hasn’t happened under Moyes.

Aguerd is undoubtedly a talent but he has not been at his best in recent weeks and particularly struggled in the 4-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday (22 October).

It all points to the fact that selling Aguerd, particularly if they can get a sizeable fee, might not be the worst idea – particularly if that money can be reinvested to strengthen the sum of the parts, just as the money from Rice was.

You also have to question how much Aguerd’s heart is in it if he had genuinely agreed a move back to his old club, while links to other teams suggest he is angling for an exit.

In other West Ham news, Edson Alvarez revealed who convinced him to make the move to the London Stadium.