Nayef Aguerd wanted in major transfer race after Wolfsburg fail to sign West Ham United ace

Nayef Aguerd now has multiple teams pushing to sign him from West Ham after he rejected a move to Germany, according to Santi Aouna.

The Foot Mercato journalist reported via X on 26 August that the Bundesliga club the Moroccan has turned down was Wolfsburg, after a loan-to-buy exit had been lined up [Guardian, 26 August].

However, it doesn’t look like the Irons are going to be short of alternative options with “many clubs” now looking to bring the defender in.

Sky Sports’ Dharmesh Sheth (26 August) named Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad as one of those in the race for his signature.

Kurt Zouma is also on his way out of West Ham to Al Orobah

Since Middle Eastern teams look to be in the running the pressure on securing an exit for the centre-back is slightly reduced.

The Saudi Pro League transfer window is open for a few days longer than the Premier League’s so a deal could still be done to send him there, as Kurt Zouma also closes in on a move to Al Orobah [Sheth, 26 August].

But it would take a lot of power out of the Irons’ hands if most European deadlines passed and it was clear they were still trying to shift the 28-year-old.

With interest developing in back-up striker Danny Ings [Darren Witcoop on talkSPORT2, 26 August, 6:49pm], who the club are eager to offload thanks to his £130,000-a-week contract and a return of just four Irons goals [talkSPORT, 13 August], some vital easing of the wage bill looks to be on the cards.

And with space and cash needed to complete the signing of Carlos Soler from PSG [The Times, 26 August] there should be tentative optimism that the window can be rounded out successfully.

In other West Ham news, a third defender is now wanted in both France and Belgium as he also heads for an exit from the London Stadium.

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