Juventus might not be the same Serie A-dominating force of years gone by but still, in the case of West Ham United’s £30 million forgotten man Nayef Aguerd, talk about falling upwards.
While Bayer Leverkusen close in on Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah and after Marseille beat West Ham to Burnley’s CJ Egan-Riley potential landing spots for the Morocco international appeared few and far between only 48 hours ago.
The recently de-throned Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen initially targeted Aguerd before shifting their focus to Anfield. Quansah is now expected to swap Anfield for the Bayer Arena to the tune of £34 million instead.
Marseille considered bringing Aguerd back to France as well. It was a fine spell with Rennes which earned the one-time Dijon defender his big-money switch to West Ham United during the summer of 2022, after all.
But presuming that Leverkusen and L’OM are now out of the running, and with West Ham still needing to sell before they can start thinking about embarking upon an overdue transformation of Graham Potter’s squad, Juventus’ sudden emergence onto the scene could see them ride to the Hammers’ rescue and save their summer.
Juventus fans react as talks begin over West Ham United’s Nayef Aguerd
The always-reliable Gianluca di Marzio broke the news on Thursday. Juventus have held talks with West Ham, the reporter says, about a potential swap deal involving Aguerd and Daniele Rugani.
Now, the Hammers might not be too keen on the second part of that arrangement. A now-30-year-old Rugani appears to be a footballer well past his sell-by date, as a poor loan spell at Ajax attests.
But the first part – a move that would see Aguerd swap a backseat role at the London Stadium for one of Europe’s A-list institutions – well, that would come as a blessed relief for a club yet to spend a penny or even bring one in during the first three weeks of the window.
Now, this would not be the first time Juventus have answered the prayers of an out-of-favour centre-back looking for a fresh start away from the Premier League.
Former AFC Bournemouth captain Lloyd Kelly left Newcastle United for Turin in January. Five months on, with Juventus on the lookout for another left-footed defensive option, it may be Nayef Aguerd’s turn to fall upwards.
The feeling among many Bianconeri supporters, meanwhile, is that Aguerd would represent an upgrade on a man who has already been on the wrong end of 3-0 and 4-0 thrashings by Fiorentina and Atalanta in Serie A.
“Aguerd is a left footed centre-back, a level ahead of Kelly in my opinion,” one Juve supporter writes on X in response to Di Marzio’s claims. “It would be a great transfer if Rugani is swapped, and he‘s cheap.
“Rugani plus 10 or 15 million [euros] and I‘m happy.”
“Would be a decent deal. Aguerd is pretty good,” another adds. “Even if we don’t sign him, it’s a good sign that we are looking at players of that profile.”
“Of course, Nayef is better and he is left footed, which means Kelly will not be starter.”
“Nayef Aguerd is a decent defender. Nothing spectacular but he can do a good job. At least he’s better than Kelly!”
Some at the Serie A giants want Daniele Rugani to stay in Turin
On the other side of the proverbial fence, however, sit a section of supporters who have their share of reservations.
Particularly, about the inclusion of Rugani – a five-time Scudetto winner of nearly 150 Juventus appearances – as a makeweight.
“Hard pass. I’m keeping Rugani,” one less-enthused Allianz Stadium supporter argues. “This team lacks leaders. He’s a solid back up who knows the club and doesn’t need time to adapt.
“[Aguerd] should be exchanged with Kelly instead.”
“Swap him for Kelly. Leave Rugani alone”
“I don’t know much about that player [Aguerd] besides he is a left-sided centre-back. I think Rugani is underrated. He’s reliable. I’d like for him to stay.”
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
