Nayef Aguerd

Nayef Aguerd (Arabic: نايف أكرد; Berber languages: ⵏⴰⵢⴼ ⴰⴳⵕⴹ; born 30 March 1996) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club West Ham United and the Morocco national team.

Nayef Aguerd
نايف أكرد
ⵏⴰⵢⴼ ⴰⴳⵕⴹ
Aguerd with West Ham United in 2023
Personal information
Full name Nayef Aguerd[1]
Date of birth (1996-03-30) 30 March 1996[2]
Place of birth Kenitra, Morocco
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 West Ham United
Number 27
Youth career
2012–2014 Mohammed VI Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2018 FUS Rabat 80 (5)
2018–2020 Dijon 25 (4)
2020–2022 Rennes 66 (5)
2022– West Ham United 26 (3)
International career‡
2015 Morocco U23 4 (0)
2016– Morocco 32 (1)
Medal record
Representing  Morocco
Toulon Tournament
Runner-up2015
African Nations Championship
Winner2018
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:35, 22 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:29, 15 October 2023 (UTC)

He began his professional career playing for Botola side FUS Rabat, before leaving to France and playing for Dijon and Rennes. He was chosen in Morocco's squads for the African Nations Championship in 2018, the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 and the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Early life

Nayef Aguerd was born and raised in the port city of Kenitra in north western Morocco.[4]

Aguerd began his footballing career with the Mohammed VI Football Academy, before moving to FUS Rabat in 2014.[5] The player then played a season with the club amateurs before signing his first professional contract with FUS Rabat in Botola in 2014.

Club career

Early career

During his first season with FUS Rabat, he was the runner-up of the 2015 Throne cup after losing the final against Olympique Club de Khouribga. On 15 February 2015, he scored his first goal for the team in a 3–1 victory against Wydad AC.[6][7] On 3 March, he scored his first continental goal in a 1–1 draw against UMS de Loum.[8]

Dijon

After four seasons, he joined Dijon in Ligue 1.[9] He made his professional debut with Dijon in a 4–0 win over Nice on 25 August 2018, scoring the first goal for his side on his debut.[10]

Rennes

On 14 August 2020, Aguerd signed a contract with Ligue 1 team Rennes from Dijon for an undisclosed fee believed to be between €4m and €5m.[11] He scored his first goal for the club in a friendly against Nice; the game ended in a 3–2 loss.[12] On 13 September 2020, Aguerd scored his first league goal in a 4–2 victory against Nîmes.[13]

On 17 May 2021, He was placed 11th place in the Prix Marc-Vivien Foé as the best player who represents an African national football team in Ligue 1.[14] On 19 August 2021, Aguerd scored a header, which marked his first European goal, in a 2–0 victory against Rosenborg.[15] A week later, Aguerd scored again in the second leg against Rosenborg in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round.[16] On 16 May 2022, Aguerd was placed 3rd as the best African player in Ligue 1 for the Prix Marc-Vivien Foé.[17]

Aguerd with West Ham in 2023.

West Ham United

In June 2022, Aguerd signed for West Ham United on a five-year contract for a fee of £30 million. His fee was the fourth-highest paid by West Ham after those paid for Sébastien Haller, Felipe Anderson and Kurt Zouma.[18] On July 16, Aguerd made his debut for the Hammers in a friendly against Reading, playing a total of 63 minutes of a 1–1 draw at the Madejski Stadium.[19][20] In his second game, a pre-season friendly against Rangers on 19 July, Aguerd injured his ankle which required surgery.[21][22] On 19 October, Aguerd returned back to training with the team three months after his injury.[23][24] He made his competitive West Ham United debut on 27 October in a Europa Conference League game against Silkeborg, which West Ham won 1–0.[25] On 2 April, Aguerd scored his first Premier League goal in the home encounter against Southampton, which ended in a 1–0 victory.[26][27] On 7 June, Aguerd won his first major trophy for the club the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League against Fiorentina, which ended in a 2–1 victory.[28][29]

International career

Aguerd made his debut for the Morocco national team in a friendly 0–0 tie with Albania on 31 August 2016.[30] Aguerd represented Morocco in the 2018 African Nations Championship, helping his country to achieve their first CHAN title.[31] On 6 September 2021, Aguerd scored his first goal against Sudan in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, he sent a sharp shot in the net from a cross.[32]

He was later invited by Vahid Halilhodžić to represent Morocco in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.[33] Nayef started all of his matches in the group stages.[34][35] He scored an own-goal in a 2–2 draw against Gabon.[36]

On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[37][38] Aguerd played all three group games and the round of 16 match against Spain. However, he missed the quarter-final vs Portugal but still played an important role in defence along with Romain Saïss and was instrumental in Morocco reaching the Semi-finals of the world Cup. However, he missed the decisive game against France due to injury and was withdrawn minutes before the game, despite having been mentioned in the official starting line-ups prior to the match.[39][40]

Personal life

On 9 September 2023, Aguerd along with his national teammates donated some of their blood for the needy affected by the 2023 Marrakesh-Safi earthquake.[41]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 6 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FUS Rabat 2014–15 Botola Pro 12140——161
2015–16 21241——253
2016–17 24210—131383
2017–18 23000—40270
Total 80591001711067
Dijon 2018–19 Ligue 1 1333010—173
2019–20 12100——121
Total 254301000294
Rennes 2020–21 Ligue 1 35310—40403
2021–22 31200—92404
Total 6651000132807
West Ham United 2022–23 Premier League 182301080302
2023–24 7100001182
Total 253301091384
Career total 196171612039425322

International
Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Nayef Aguerd
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
16 September 2021Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco Sudan1–02–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

FUS Rabat

West Ham United

Morocco

Individual

Orders

References
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  2. "Nayef Aguerd: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  3. "Nayef Aguerd". West Ham United F.C. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  4. "Eight things you need to know about Nayef Aguerd | West Ham United F.C." www.whufc.com. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  5. "Made in Morocco, Flourishing in France; Is London Calling For Nayef Aguerd?". Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  6. "Goalzz.com: live sports scores and news". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  7. "Nayef Aguerd: Who is the Morocco international signed by West Ham United? | Goal.com English Bahrain". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  8. "UMS de Loum 1-1 FUS Rabat :: Taça da Confederação CAF 2016 :: Détails du jeu :: leballonrond.fr". www.leballonrond.fr (in French). Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  9. "Nayef Aguerd première recrue du DFCO !". www.dfco.fr.
  10. "LFP.fr – Ligue de Football Professionnel – Ligue 1 Conforama – Saison 2018/2019 – 3ème journée – OGC Nice / Dijon FCO". www.lfp.fr.
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  12. "A win to end preseason". OGC Nice (in French). Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  13. "Ligue 1: Guirassy Scores Twice as Rennes Beats Nimes 4-2; Marseille Down PSG 1-0". News18. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
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