Over the summer, West Ham United were looking for a new centre-back, casting their net far and wide to see if they could catch anything.
Eventually, they decided to lump money on Kurt Zouma, which has worked out, at least on the pitch, but one of the people they also targeted at the time was Rennes’ Nayef Aguerd, for whom they reportedly put €20m on the table.
That was returned to sender by the Ligue 1 side, who were determined to bolster their squad rather than weaken it, which has paid dividends, as they currently sit fourth in Ligue 1, with the Morocco International one of their key players.
The 25-year-old West Ham target has been a near constant for Rennes over the course of the season, appearing 32 times and helping out with four goals and two assists, helping them reach the last 16 of the Conference League in the process.
Aguerd sat down with Ouest-France on Wednesday for an interview, where he was directly asked about the approaches of English clubs.
While West Ham weren’t directly named, they are the ones who were named as being after him last summer, and the centre-back explained why he decided against the move.
He said: “I told myself I still had a year left to prove myself. When you’re a player, you’re under contract, it’s the club that chooses. They didn’t want me to leave, even if I had offers. They chose to extend me by showing me that I was important to the club, in the dressing room. I signed directly and showed that I was part of the project.”
Having now had his extra year to prove himself, perhaps West Ham will have a better chance in the upcoming transfer window?
