‘It is a dream for every player’ – Aguerd becomes West Ham’s fourth most expensive signing ever

Defender joins Hammers 

West Ham have confirmed the signing of Stade Rennais defender Nayef Aguerd after the player agreed a five-year deal with the Premier League side. According to the BBC, the transfer fee for the player stands at around £30 million (€34.9m) and immediately makes the Morocco international the club’s fourth most expensive signing ever. “I was really excited when I heard about West Ham United’s interest,” said Aguerd in an interview with the West Ham website. “When I heard about it, I knew I needed to go to the Premier League, because it’s a dream for every player. West Ham is a historic club. I saw a few of their games this year, and I saw the fans and the atmosphere were fantastic, with the bubbles! I talked with the manager and he showed me that he was very interested, so it was easy to choose to come to West Ham.”

West Ham have completed the signing of Morocco international Nayef Aguerd on a five-year deal pic.twitter.com/6f0J4nCMtk

— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) June 20, 2022

Aguerd makes the move to London as West Ham’s first major signing of the summer window and undoubtedly fills a hole in the centre of the team’s defence that looked far from solid and dependable last season. And to no great surprise, West Ham manager David Moyes was quick to express his delight with the transfer finally getting over the line. “I am delighted to welcome Nayef to West Ham United,” said the Scottish manager. “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.”

Fourth most expensive signing ever – Aguerd makes waves at Hammers

Indeed, it’s clear to see just how highly West Ham value their new defensive signing considering the amount of money spent on the player. An up-front fee of £30m means that the 26-year-old talent is the club’s fourth most expensive signing ever, following in the footsteps of Sébastien Haller (joined from Eintracht Frankfurt for £45m), Felipe Anderson (from Lazio for £34.2m) and Kurt Zouma (from Chelsea for £31.5m). 

However, not only has Aguerd made waves in his arrival in England, but the defender also leaves his French club having made a huge amount of money for a club that doesn’t often sell its star player for a huge amount of money. Indeed the transfer fee received for the player was the second highest Stade Rennais have ever picked up for one of their players, with Ousmane Dembélé’s 2016 move to Borussia Dortmund for £31.5m being the only former transfer to beat it. 

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