West Ham United must forget January transfer call amid Nayef Aguerd speculation
If the latter stages of the summer is anything to go by, Nayef Aguerd may well find his name in the newspaper gossip columns as we approach the January transfer window.
In fact, the murmurings have already started as Alan Nixon reported for The Sun over the weekend that Aguerd is attracting interest from Ligue 1 side Lyon.
Aguerd was touted as a target for Liverpool, Manchester City and an unnamed Saudi Arabian club not so long ago, so a move to a team in the relegation zone in the French top flight appears to be a fall from grace.
The Morocco international has been a regular under David Moyes once again this season and has four-and-a-half years to run on his contract, so it makes little sense to sell the defender.
According to that report by The Sun [17 December], Stuttgart defender Dan-Axel Zagadou is being lined up as a possible replacement should Aguerd move on in January.
As talented a defender as Zagadou is, he will also have a fairly high price tag given he only joined Stuttgart last summer and has attracted admiring glances from some heavyweight clubs.
Besides, on the face of it, West Ham have the better defender in Aguerd. As per FBref, the 27-year-old averages more tackles per 90 minutes (1.21 v 1.14) and dribbles a higher percentage of dribblers (84.6 v 33.3) than Zagadou.
Where the Frenchman comes out on top is in terms of tackles and interceptions combined per 90 (2.76 v 2.23) and pass-completion percentage (86.9 v 79.9).
Assuming Moyes is not overly concerned about that slight improvement in passing accuracy signing Zagadou would bring, keeping hold of Aguerd seems the more logical option.
A few positions could do with strengthening at London Stadium, but centre-back – for now, at least – is not one of them.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are reportedly ready to sell as many as seven players in the January transfer window.