Nayef Aguerd - signed (30m)

[Coffee]

"OS West Ham United complete Nayef Aguerd transfer West Ham United are delighted to announce the signing of Morocco international defender Nayef Aguerd. The 26-year-old joins the Hammers from French Ligue 1 club Rennes on a five-year contract and adds further quality and depth to David Moyes‚Äô squad. He will wear the No27 shirt. Aguerd has enjoyed two impressive seasons with Rennes, enhancing the reputation he established at FUS Rabat, Dijon and with the Moroccan national team. Now, the left-sided player will continue his career in the English Premier League, where his combination of talents will see him provide strong competition for Craig Dawson, Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma. ‚ÄúI was really excited when I heard about West Ham United's interest,‚Äù said Aguerd, an impressive individual who speaks fluent French, English, Arabic and Spanish. ‚ÄúWhen I heard about it, I knew I needed to go to the Premier League, because it‚Äôs a dream for every player. ‚ÄúWest Ham is a historic Club. I saw a few of their games this year, and I saw the fans and the atmosphere were fantastic, with the bubbles! ‚ÄúI talked with the manager and he showed me that he was very interested, so it was easy to choose to come to West Ham.‚Äù Aguerd was born in the city of K?©nitra in the north of Morocco into a footballing family. His father played in the Moroccan top-flight, while his uncle Abdelmajid Bouyboud was capped 34 times and appeared at the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals ‚Äì an achievement his nephew could emulate in Qatar later this year. As a boy, Aguerd represented local club KAC of K?©nitra before being scouted and recruited to the national Mohammed VI Football Academy in the capital city of Rabat, where he spent four years playing alongside the likes of Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri. In 2014, aged 18, he joined leading club Rabat FUS, making 12 appearances in his debut season and attracting the attention of a host of leading Spanish clubs. After bulking up and working hard on his game, Aguerd then inspired FUS to their first-ever Moroccan Championship in May 2016, scoring a vital goal against Ittihad Tanger that all but clinched the title. After scoring in the 2017 CAF Champions League and impressing regularly for FUS over the next two seasons, Aguerd joined French Ligue 1 club Dijon in 2018. Two encouraging seasons for Les Rouges led to a transfer to Rennes, where he started the club‚Äôs first-ever UEFA Champions League match at home to Russian side Krasnodar and featured in four of six group-stage fixtures in the autumn of 2020. Aguerd has thrived at Roazhon Park, making 66 Ligue 1 appearances and helping Rennes qualify for Europe in each of the last two seasons. He scored twice in seven UEFA Europa Conference League appearances and started 31 Ligue 1 games as Rennes finished fourth last term. At international level, the defender was capped at U20 and U23 level before making his senior debut against Albania in August 2016. Two years later, he helped Morocco win the African Nations Championship on home turf. He is now a regular in the Atlas Lions‚Äô starting XI with 25 senior caps and was an ever-present in Morocco‚Äôs successful 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign and run to the 2021 CAF Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals. Everyone at West Ham United would like to welcome Nayef to London Stadium and wish him all the best for his career in Claret and Blue."

[Come On You Irons]

"Haha, so you've slagged me off and then gone on to completely agree with my point of view on Aguerd. Righto. I don't know why it pains people on here to recognise when I'm right (which is most of the time) and that I talk a lot of sense. Seems if you have an opinion on here you've got to be fishing. I was right about Benrahma, I was right about Pagueta and I'm sure I'll be proved right about Aguerd."

[Eerie Descent]

"I'd add, in both the games where he has made his trademark Hollywood tackle, he's come off injured."

[Eerie Descent]

"I'm not on board with the silly cսnt COYI, he's clearly got a lot of good attributes as a player, but fuck me, everyone has gone a bit overboard with him. Very good on the ball, decent pace, seems a good character, LOVES a ricket. As well as those pointed out, Joe Willock absolutely mugged him off in the Newcastle game when he scored the disallowed goal, it was shocking defending. Potential for sure, but I won't be calling him the next coming of Bobby Moore just yet. And I'd prefer if he was in good position instead of having to make those last ditch tackles that everyone fawns over"

[SullyHammer]

"Benrahma is a frustrating fella. There was a couple of instances where he got in good positions but just lashed the shot well wide of the goal. Then there was the free kick he should have at least hit the target but it went over. He seemed lively when he came on. But unfortunately we don't have the players to change a game on the 70th mark, like they do (Son). So we just have to swallow it and move on."

[Hermit Road]

He is a good player and I'm glad we signed him but getting drawn out of position like that for their goal was shocking at this level. Needs to learn from it and move on.

[Russ of the BML]

Vexed 9:37 Sun Feb 19 Agreed. Ogbonna contributed to both goals.

[Russ of the BML]

"Aguerd is a top, top player. In fact, I think he's so good I cannot believe we got him. BUT He was at fault and should've stayed with his man. He got dragged over. But, hey, these things happen. I've seen much better defenders than him make mistakes. He won't make many, I can assure you of that."

[zebthecat]

He is just a deliberate contraversialist cսnt. It does appear to be the thing now.

[Fifth Column]

Steady You really need to ignore Come On Benrahma's bait. Everyone can see that he had no choice but to close down the player after he got behind our other two defenders. Come On Benrahma knows that. He's just on a wind up.

[Vexed]

Thought Ogbonna got mugged off for both goals. Slow as fuck now.

[Steady]

"COYI - those 2 defenders were behind Davies who had got past them, Aguerd had to close him down, either way he had no choice"

[Come On You Irons]

Steady - look at the replay. There were two defenders on that side already trying to deal with Davies. Aguerd left his man unmarked by needlessly running over to side of goal where two defenders already were positioned. Schoolboy defending rather than £30 million Premier League player defending.

[scott_d]

everyone needs to ignore COYI's bate.

[Steady]

"COYI - Aguerd had to close Davies down or he was through on goal, so had no choice."

[twoleftfeet]

"COYI I genuinely think you have never watched a match in your life. I actually hope we get relegated so people like you, keep dreaming, vexed and sir alf all fuck off and leave the rest of us to support the team."

[paulon]

Shut up you tit

[Come On You Irons]

At fault for the first Tottenham goal today getting dragged totally out of position and losing the goal scorer. Got luck with a terrible give away at 0-0. Lets be honest. This fella looks like another colossal waste of money. Dawson is better than him.

[Come On You Irons]

At fault for the first Tottenham goal today getting dragged totally out of position and losing the goal scorer. Got luck with a terrible give away at 0-0. Lets be honest. This fella looks like another colossal waste of money. Dawson is better than him.

[El Scorchio]

"Valid. I think Sullivan selling up is our only real chance of retaining top players, though. Teams will be all over him so he has to be given a reason to stay, just like we’ve failed to do with Rice."

[Side of Ham]

Some of us do like to piss on our own chips....I'd wait until it's confirmed whether Sullivan is staying or going before selling our new players currently doing well.

[El Scorchio]

"Honestly and unfortunately, I think if he stays injury free and doesn’t drop off a cliff form wise, we will be lucky to get more than two seasons of him."

[OneAll]

"also was with his weaker foot, he really is going to be one of the best cb we have ever had imo"

[62Hammer]

And that Wilson tackle...not only did he have yards to make up but he had to switch from right to left as he was running. I enjoy watching that tackle almost -almost - as much as Bobby Moore's in 1970.

[Stowie.40]

"I don’t think he was Diop’s replacement, more Ogbonna’s. Keher was Diop’s I thought, and somehow we’ve managed to sign someone worse than him."

[El Scorchio]

"Full Claret Jacket 12:00 Agree with that, sadly. He’s got all those qualities the top clubs covet in a centre back, maybe only lacking that tiny bit of bulk. I don’t want to put too much hyperbole on it but he seems very much a Guardiola type of player, for example. He will go for massive money though if he stays fit and carries on like this."