Archive for June 20, 2022
First Signing Has Arrived
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’ 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.
Aguerd has been scouted extensively by Hammers boss David Moyes and head of recruitment Rob Newman.
Aguerd’s talent is obvious for anyone that has seen him play or takes a look at his YouTube highlights reel.
His stats are seriously impressive too. According to Opta data, Aguerd has made the most forward passes of any outfield player in the top five European leagues since the start of the 2020-21 season!
Manager David Moyes was happy to welcome Aguerd to the Irons, commenting: “I am delighted to welcome Nayef to West Ham United. We have tracked his progress for some time and I’m very pleased that we have been able to complete the signing. He’s a great addition that will add to our defensive options.
“I have been really impressed with Nayef’s character and attitude during our discussions. He has a great desire to improve and be successful, and I am sure he will fit in very well to the environment we have at Rush Green.”
French football Website GFFN speaks highly of West Ham’s first signing of the new season: “In terms of attributes, Aguerd has fantastic pace, solid distribution, and a calmness on the ball, as has been repeatedly seen at Rennes, with him happy to bring the ball out of defence,” GFFN states.
“Tall and strong, he’s dominant in the air, allowing him to be a threat from balls into the box, where all seven of his goals for Rennes over the last two seasons have come from. For a defender, he is surprisingly disciplined, only picking up that solitary red card and 10 yellow cards in two seasons.”
So we’ve got a promising first signing, let’s hope Nayef does adjust quickly to English football and fit into the team. That he has a close friend in midfield player Pablo Fornals will of course help him settle in at West Ham.
Now let’s hope for more arrivals – especially the Hammers‘ attack needs to be strengthened!
EXTRA TIME 
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