EPL

New West Ham signing Aguerd undergoes ankle surgery

By Sports Desk July 25, 2022

New West Ham signing Nayef Aguerd has undergone surgery after sustaining an ankle injury in a pre-season friendly. 

The Hammers spent a reported £30million to sign Aguerd from Rennes in June but he is now a doubt for the start of the new season after being forced off in the first half of last Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Rangers at Ibrox. 

West Ham did not give a time frame for the Morocco defender's return to action, with David Moyes' side entertaining Premier League champions Manchester City in their opening game of the season on August 7. 

Aguerd was signed after playing a role in 19 clean sheets in Ligue 1 over the previous two seasons with Rennes. The only defenders with more were Wout Faes (20), Marquinhos (26), Sven Botman (28) and Jose Fonte (29). 

Across the 2020-21 and 2021-22 Premier League campaigns, Aaron Creswell (18) was the West Ham defender with the most clean sheets.

At the other end of the pitch, the Hammers could well be boosted by the arrival of Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo. 

Sassuolo chief executive Giovanni Carnevali confirmed at the weekend that a deal was in place, with the transfer believed to be worth £35.5m. 

Italy international Scamacca was reported to be set for a medical in London on Monday. 

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    Antonio’s early header gave the Hammers hope of overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit and inflicting a first defeat of the season on Xabi Alonso’s new Bundesliga champions.

    But the bustling striker claimed he did not get a decision all night from card-happy Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez and his two assistants.

    “It doesn’t feel like you’re playing against 11 men, it feels like you’re playing against 13 or 14 including the two linos,” Antonio told TNT Sports.

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    West Ham pushed gamely for a second goal to take the tie to extra-time, but as they inevitably flagged Leverkusen substitute Jeremie Frimpong scored with a deflected shot in the last minute to make it 1-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate.

    It was a valiant effort but ultimately a sad end to another European adventure for last season’s Conference League winners.

    “We’re very proud of ourselves, to achieve what we’ve achieved over the last few years is incredible,” added Antonio.

    “Three back-to-back years in European quarter-finals I would never have thought that. We were a yo-yo team, fighting relegation, then into Europe.”

    Sanchez booked 11 players and sent off West Ham coach Billy McKinlay, and Sebastian Parrilla from Leverkusen’s staff after a touchline altercation.

    Asked if that skirmish had anything to do with some bad-tempered exchanges between the benches in last week’s first leg, Alonso said with a grin: “I wouldn’t say no.”

    Hammers boss David Moyes was not keen to be drawn on the officiating, but he did say: “I watch a lot of Spanish football but if that’s the way it is you wouldn’t want to watch too many Spanish matches.”

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    “For sure it was a thrilling game,” he said. “Two different halves. First half we knew West Ham would come with high intensity and we were not comfortable with that.

    “After they scored one we were lucky not to concede a second one. But we showed character in the second half and the substitutes had a good impact. It was a lesson for us.”

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    But the first goal was always going to have to come from West Ham if they were going to make anything resembling a contest out of it, and it arrived in the 14th minute when Jarrod Bowen swung a cross into the box.

    Antonio got above Leverkusen centre-half Odilon Kossounou and in front of keeper Matej Kovar to guide his header into the net as a raucous home crowd genuinely started to believe something special could be in the air.

    It was almost two four minutes later when Mohammed Kudus shook off the attentions of Kossounou and hit a deflected shot which Kovar did well to smother.

    It was enough to rattle Alonso, who removed Kossounou from the firing line with less than half an hour gone, the Ivory Coast defender heading straight down the tunnel.

    Tempers flared between the benches moments later with the Hammers’ mild-mannered first-team coach Billy McKinlay sent off along with Sebastian Parrilla from Leverkusen’s bench.

    Still West Ham attacked and Edson Avarez’s shot looked goalbound until it hit Antonio’s backside, with Kovar holding Bowen’s follow-up.

    Alonso made two further changes at the break, with big guns Victor Boniface and Frimpong called into action.

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    But Leverkusen were finding their rhythm. Frimpong should have wrapped up the tie with 10 minutes left when he raced through one-on-one with Fabianski, only to lift his shot way over the crossbar.

    But with two minutes left Frimpong did strike, his shot taking a huge deflection off Aaron Cresswell to end West Ham’s European adventure.

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