It has been common knowledge for some time now that West Ham need to sell in order to buy this summer.
PSR rules mean the Hammers must try to balance the books after last summer’s £150m transfer splurge.
It means there are a number of players up for sale in east London, including Mohammed Kudus, Niclas Fullkrug, Emerson Palmieri and Nayef Aguerd. Lucas Paqueta may also be added to that list, depending on the outcome of his spot-fixing case.
With the summer transfer window now officially open and with lots of work for Graham Potter to do, there is an element of anticipation amongst the fanbase.
With so many key players expected to leave and a lot of big holes in the squad needing to be filled, there are concerns the club might struggle to do the business it needs to be ready to compete in the top half of the Premier League table.
Typically, there has been no shortage of rumours linking West Ham with players across the continent. None have come to fruition just yet, and that’s because the club is still trying to offload some players first.
Liverpool’s Wirtz deal to start transfer domino
Florian WIrtz signs for Liverpool
As is often the case in transfer windows, one transfer can be the catalyst for a number of other deals involving several clubs.
West Ham are not the only club waiting to sell before they can buy, while there will be clubs who are the beneficiaries of large transfer fees who will now be looking at how to reinvest that income.
Bayer Leverkusen is one club who finds themselves in that exact boat.
They’ve just agreed to sell Florian Wirtz to Liverpool for £116m, with £100m guaranteed, with new manager Erik ten Hag now hoping to reinvest that cash in strengthening his squad.
The former Man United boss, according to Hammers News, is an admirer of Aguerd and is now hoping to use some of that Wirtz money to make an official approach to bring the Morocco international to the Bundesliga.
It’s believed ten Hag sees Aguerd as the ideal replacement for Jonathan Tah, who signed for Bayern Munich in May.
Aguerd has no interest of returning to West Ham this summer after a successful loan spell with Real Socieded last season. The La Liga club and Leverkusen are keen on signing the centre-back but with Leverkusen now having £100m burning a hole in their transfer kitty, they could now be in a position to outbid their Spanish counterparts.
West Ham are hoping to raise around £20m from the sale of Aguerd, which would represent a £10m loss on the fee they paid Rennes for his services in 2022.
West Ham already have Aguerd replacement
Harwood-Bellis v West Ham
The quicker West Ham can offload Aguerd, the quicker they can go out to market and purchase his replacement.
Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis has been regularly linked with a move to east London over the past 12 months. The England international is expected to leave St. Mary’s Stadium this summer after the Saints were relegated.
Burnley are reportedly keen on bringing the former Manchester City graduate back to Turf Moor following their promotion back to the Premier League, but it’s claimed the Hammers are hoping to convince the 23-year-old to a reject a move to his former club and sit tight until they’re ready to make their move.
Journalist Alan Nixon has said on his Patreon that West Ham are ‘big fans’ of Harwood-Bellis but are only able to make a serious move for the defender once they’ve sold a player.
That means there will likely be an eagerness in the boardroom to find Aguerd a new home sooner rather than later.
It’s believed Harwood-Bellis would cost around £15m. If a deal can be done at that price, it would likely represent a shrewd bit of summer business for West Ham if they can secure the £20m asking price for Aguerd.