Another case of the absurdity of Premier League football: A West Ham discard, shoved unceremoniously out on loan last season, is now the subject of a multi-club battle, although in this instance the clubs in question are European top-tier sides.
No wonder Graham Potter’s preference is to hang on to him: Nayef Aguerd seems to have made the decision that his future lies away from East London and has made his position abundantly clear – he doesn’t intend to return.
Loaned to Real Sociedad, Aguerd performed eye- catchingly well in LaLiga, so much so that AS.com report that:
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“Real Sociedad are actually ‘fighting’ to get Aguerd back from West Ham. Competition from Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Marseille is mentioned, and La Real know it will be difficult”.
It does beg the question, as per the report, if he’s performed so well, why can’t West Ham incorporate Aguerd back into their own side?
Successive managers failed to get a tune out of the Moroccan, but surely Potter could deploy the charm offensive to bring the wayward Hammer back: He’d certainly be an upgrade on Mavropanos and could give West Ham a cost-free defensive upgrade.
Did Moyes and Lopetegui do such a dreadful job on Aguerd that he cannot be re-integrated into the squad? Maybe it will be a test of Potter’s leadership to sweet talk the wayward defender back into the fold. But they don’t come cheap and twenty million saved this summer could be massive.