Nayef Aguerd joined West Ham United from Rennes for around £30 million in the summer transfer window (Sky Sports).
The 26-year-old looked really sharp and bright during pre-season games against Reading and Rangers.
READ: Alex Crook shares what Moyes did in the referee’s room after West Ham’s defeat to Chelsea
During the first-half against Rangers though, the unthinkable happened.
Aguerd went down with ankle problem. It looked bad at the time and it has since proven to be exactly that.
The Moroccan has undergone surgery on his ankle and isn’t expected back until just before the World Cup, or maybe even after it.
Aguerd’s injury was such a shame because he looked like a real player what with his pace and ball-playing ability.
The sooner that he is back and ready to play the better for the Hammers. But how does Moyes reintegrate the 26-year-old back into the team?
Only one way Nayef Aguerd gets back into the West Ham starting XI
The form of Kurt Zouma and Thilo Kehrer means that there is no way that Moyes can drop either of them.
The Frenchman seems to be back to somewhere near his best now, whilst the German has been truly outstanding since moving to the London Stadium from Paris Saint-Germain.
Aguerd is obviously a top-class defender but if he isn’t going to replace one of those two in a back four, then Moyes needs to switch to a back three in order to accommodate the Moroccan.
He could play Aguerd on the left, Zouma in the middle and Kehrer on the right. You’re not going to get many better back threes than that.
To utilise that system properly, Moyes would obviously then have to set up with wing-backs. Emerson on the left and Vladimir Coufal out on the right.
The Scot could then have Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek in the middle or he could use Lucas Paqueta alongside Dec.
Paqueta can also operate as part of a front three, so there are plenty of options at Moyes’s disposal.
Hopefully Nayef Aguerd returns to full fitness for West Ham sooner rather than later. And more importantly, let’s hope that he comes back just as good as he was before.
The 26-year-old will undoubtedly go on to be a great player for the Hammers. Getting back into the starting Xi after his injury may well prove to be tricky unless Moyes reverts to a back three through.
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