West Ham fans will hate what £20m summer departure has just said - opinion

Former West Ham defender Nayef Aguerd made headlines overnight having scored the winner for new club Marseille in their huge clash against Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain in the south of France on Monday.

The 29-year-old quit the London Stadium on a £20 million move to Marseille at the end of the summer transfer window despite the Hammers being short of options at the back. Aguerd, who spent three years on the books at West Ham, had played 90 minutes in both the 3-0 defeat to Sunderland and 5-1 loss to Chelsea.

The Morocco international’s time at West Ham can be considered somewhat of a flop. He made 61 appearances for the club but never really became a prominent figure, being shipped off on loan to Real Sociedad last term.

Nayef Aguerd scores Marseille winner against PSG

Given the current predicament at West Ham, with just one win this season and a lowly 19th place in the Premier League, it somewhat rubs salt into the wounds to see Aguerd thriving at Marseille. In just two appearances for the club, he has scored two goals and helped his side to wins in both matches.

The most infuriating is, perhaps, what Aguerd credits his remarkable turn in form to. Speaking after the win over PSG, the centre-back praised the environment at the club and the work of head coach Roberto De Zerbi - while fans continue to fall out with the West Ham board and question marks remain over the future of Graham Potter back home.

Aguerd said: “I want to thank the club for making the transition so easy. I feel as if I’ve been at the club for a year already. We will continue to work. We have an important match against Ajax next. It’s also the success of the coaching staff.

Ex West Ham star going above and beyond in France

“It’s not my job to score goals but, if the chance comes, I’m not going to say no. The goals we’ve seen are ones we’ve worked on. With my size and we have dangerous players, we make the most of the qualities we have available. It wasn’t an easy match [against PSG], the team played well and with intensity. The coach knew how to stop them and we made that work on the pitch. We had to sacrifice ourselves and put in a lot of running.”

West Ham paid a reported £30 million to sign Aguerd from Rennes in June 2022. Despite his loan spell last season, it had appeared that Aguerd could be handed a role under Potter for the 2025/26 campaign before being sold.

The Hammers brought in Brighton man Igor Julio on loan to plug the gap left by Aguerd but may now be wishing they were able to provide the stewardship that has seen him thrive at Marseille since leaving London as Premier League struggles continue.

In other news, West Ham risk further fan anger over next manager decision as cheaper option could be taken.