West Ham United have reportedly made an opening offer of £15 million for Rennes’ Moroccan international defender, Nayef Aguerd.
According to a report from Football Insider, West Ham United’s pursuit of a new centre-back has taken them to Ligue 1 outfit Rennes, with the Premier League club launching a £15 million bid for Nayef Aguerd.
Having begun his career in his homeland Morocco, Aguerd made the jump to France in 2018, signing for Dijon from FUS Rabat. The 25-year-old enjoyed two solid season with the French club, prompting Rennes to invest in him in the summer last year.
Aguerd, in his debut season with the Ligue 1 outfit, established himself as a mainstay, racking up 40 appearances across all competitions, in which he scored three goals and assisted one as well. Even though Rennes struggled, the centre-back, who has 15 international appearances for Morocco, stood out.
Aguerd’s displays with Rennes have been enough to attract the interest of Premier League club West Ham United. The reports states that the Hammers have been tailing the defender for some time now, and understandably so, as manager David Moyes seeks to bolster his options at the heart of the backline.
As things stand, following the exit of Fabian Balbuena, West Ham have four centre-halves at their disposal in the form of Angelo Ogbonna, Craig Dawson, Issa Diop and Winston Reid. The latter seemingly is not part of the manager’s plans, having been loaned out for the past year and a half.
Ogbonna, meanwhile, has picked up an injury during pre-season while it must also be noted that each of the defenders barring Diop are well into their thirties. So, it becomes a major necessity that West Ham United bring in a new, younger option to bolster their backline before the summer transfer window slams shut.
A move for Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma has been strongly mooted, but the Frenchman is uninterested in making the cross-London switch. There has been significant interest in Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic as well, considering that the towering Serbian is in the final year of his contract with the Serie A outfit.
Aguerd, too, is an option that is being seriously considered at the London Stadium. The report claims that West Ham had opened preliminary talks with Rennes for the 25-year-old back in July itself. Now, they have taken a step further and submitted an offer of £15 million to secure his services.
Rennes, however, are expected to reject the Hammers’ offer as they intend to keep hold of their star defender. The report also states that West Ham are willing to pay a significant sum to sign a new defender and whether they return with an improved offer for Aguerd remains to be seen.
