West Ham are bracing for a concrete approach from Italy for Nayef Aguerd, with Serie A clubs circling and a summer shake-up already underway behind the scenes.
Graham Potter is expected to have a busy window, and Aguerd’s potential exit might be one of the early dominoes.
“In the coming days.”
As first shared by ExWHUEmployee, the club is increasingly confident that an official offer will land “in the coming days.”
Juve and Roma have both been sniffing around, and with the Moroccan centre-back now 28 and patchy last season, a move abroad might suit all parties.
Juventus Eye Swap, Hammers Want the Cash
Juventus have apparently floated a part-exchange involving Daniele Rugani, throwing in the veteran defender plus cash to tempt West Ham. The Hammers aren’t biting. They’re after a clean deal and a straight fee, not a stopgap centre-back edging towards the twilight of his career.
Rugani’s name doesn’t excite many in east London, and ExWHUEmployee made a point which rang alarm bells in many West Ham fans: “The defender is soon to be 31 and doesn’t fit the profile of player the club are looking for… he hasn’t played more than half a season of games since his first couple of years.”
Potter, who’s known for his preference for more mobile, possession-comfortable defenders, is expected to be fairly ruthless as he reshapes a squad that lost its way under Moyes toward the end. Shifting Aguerd, who never fully settled after arriving from Rennes, could free up both wages and funds.
A Quiet Ekwah Bonus Drops Into the Pot
Meanwhile, West Ham are quietly pocketing a tidy sum thanks to a bit of smart forward planning. Former academy midfielder Pierre Ekwah is set to move to Saint Etienne for €6 million, and thanks to a 35% sell-on clause, a slice of that fee is headed back to east London.
Not all of it though. There’s a secondary clause involving Chelsea, who owned Ekwah before he joined West Ham. The Blues get 35% of West Ham’s share, which whittles the Hammers’ cut down to around £1.17 million, according to both ExWHUEmployee and finance journalist Sean Whetstone.
Still, every penny helps. That amount gets folded into the summer budget and gives Potter a bit more wiggle room as the club looks to bring in new faces.
With Edson Álvarez likely to stay and midfield surgery on the back burner compared to defensive and forward reinforcements, don’t be surprised if the Aguerd money (whenever it lands) goes straight into chasing a new centre-half or helping plug what was a pretty leaky back line last season.”
