Sunderland rival European giants for transfer of 'forgotten' £15m West Ham player

West Ham defender Nayef Aguerd is wanted by newly promoted Sunderland according to fresh reports, with the 29-year-old expected to leave the London Stadium this summer.

The Morocco international has become somewhat of a forgotten figure at West Ham having spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad. Aguerd has returned to the club for pre-season training but is not expected to be part of Graham Potter’s plans for next season.

West Ham paid £30 million to sign Aguerd from Rennes in 2022 and he made 58 appearances across his first two seasons with the club before being loaned out to Spain. Aguerd’s temporary exit came as the club brought in Max Kilman from Wolves for £40 million and Jean-Clair Todibo’s move to the club has been permanent this summer.

Sunderland linked with West Ham transfer

As such, Aguerd appears surplus to requirements with West Ham keen to cash in on the player and fund their own summer spending, which is yet to really take off. Hammers News claim that European giants Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Marseille and Real Madrid are all also interested in the centre-back, but that Sunderland hope to beat that competition in an ambitious swoop.

Foot Mercato believe that the Black Cats have ‘fallen under Aguerd’s spell’ and ‘taken the temperature’ of a potential deal, which is expected to cost between £15 million and £17 million.

It remains to be seen whether Aguerd wants to remain in the Premier League after his time abroad and whether West Ham would sanction an exit to a top flight rival.

Aguerd suffered with injuries during his early time at West Ham but did impress when he was able to get on the pitch. Speaking in February 2023, former Hammers manager David Moyes said: "We really wanted to buy him two years ago. He’s a really good player, really good on the ball, stylish. He’s got some really good attributes and I think he will be a big a plus to us.”

Aguerd and West Ham loanees return to training

Aguerd was one of 27 players to report to first team training this week. He was joined by fellow loanees Maxwel Cornet, Freddie Potts, George Earthy, Callum Marshall and Krisztián Hegyi. Potter said: “Aside from Edson Álvarez – who we congratulate after winning the Gold Cup with Mexico at the weekend – we’ve had the entire squad report back on Monday, which is a big positive and means that we can get some really good work in together from the word go.

“We’ve also had a few players come back into the group after being out on loan last season, plus some new faces on the staff, so it’s been nice to welcome them and hear about their experiences, and generally just catch up with everyone as a group. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us in the coming weeks, but we’re really looking forward to the challenge, and really excited about the new season.”

In other news, West Ham free agent must offer services to Millwall after Charlton Athletic rejection - opinion.