Porto and Villarreal leading the race for West Ham player with 58 appearances

FC Porto and Villarreal are among the leading clubs looking to sign West Ham United defender Nayef Aguerd before the closure of the summer transfer window, according to reports. 

Aguerd has spent the last two seasons with the Hammers, during which time he’s played 58 games across all competitions and helped the club win the 2022/23 UEFA Conference League.

However, the Morocco international has been linked with a move away from the London Stadium consistently over the summer, while he’s yet to even make the matchday squad for a competitive game under new manager Julen Lopetegui.

The summer signing of French defender Jean-Clear Todibo has only made the outlook more bleak for Aguerd, who appears to be near the bottom of a centre-back depth chart that also contains Max Kilman, Kurt Zouma and Konstantinos Mavropanos.

In Aguerd’s absence, West Ham have opened the new season with a 2-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa, followed by a 2-0 win away at Crystal Palace.

West Ham ready to sell Nayef Aguerd

According to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, Portuguese giants Porto and Spanish outfit Villarreal have both placed Aguerd on their ‘priority list’.

Auona’s report also states multiple other European clubs and teams from the Saudi Pro League are also interested in Aguerd, who is said to be ‘open to a new challenge’.

But despite being open to something new, other recent reports have suggested that Aguerd has rejected a loan move to an unnamed Bundesliga club, while his £90,000 per week salary is proving difficult to match for many potential suitors.

Villarreal have already signed one centre-back this summer in the form of Logan Costa from Toulouse, but have seen Jorge Cuenca and Aissa Mandi depart for Fulham and Lille, respectively.

Porto, meanwhile, are on the lookout for defensive reinforcements having sold David Carmo to Nottingham Forest over the summer, while Fabio Cardoso has also joined UAE Pro League outfit Al-Ain on loan.