Nayef Aguerd

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

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 2023, and the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Early life
Nayef Aguerd was born and raised in the city of Kenitra in north western Morocco.

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

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. On 3 March, he scored his first continental goal in a 1–1 draw against UMS de Loum.

Dijon
After four seasons, he joined Dijon in Ligue 1. 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.

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. He scored his first goal for the club in a friendly against Nice; the game ended in a 3–2 loss. On 13 September 2020, Aguerd scored his first league goal in a 4–2 victory against Nîmes.

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. On 19 August 2021, Aguerd scored a header, which marked his first European goal, in a 2–0 victory against Rosenborg. A week later, Aguerd scored again in the second leg against Rosenborg in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round. On 16 May 2022, Aguerd was placed 3rd as the best African player in Ligue 1 for the Prix Marc-Vivien Foé.

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. 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. In his second game, a pre-season friendly against Rangers on 19 July, Aguerd injured his ankle which required surgery. On 19 October, Aguerd returned to training with the team three months after his injury. 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. On 2 April, Aguerd scored his first Premier League goal in the home encounter against Southampton, which ended in a 1–0 victory. 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.

International career
Aguerd made his debut for the Morocco national team in a friendly 0–0 tie with Albania on 31 August 2016. Aguerd represented Morocco in the 2018 African Nations Championship, helping his country to achieve their first CHAN title. 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.

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

On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 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.

On 28 December 2023, Aguerd was amongst the 27 players selected by coach Walid Regragui to represent Morocco in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

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.

International

 * Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first.

Honours
FUS Rabat
 * Botola: 2015–16
 * Throne Cup: 2013–14; runner-up: 2014–15

West Ham United Morocco
 * UEFA Europa Conference League: 2022–23
 * African Nations Championship: 2018

Individual
 * IFFHS CAF Men Team of The Year: 2020
 * UEFA Europa Conference League Team of the Season: 2022–23

Orders
 * Order of the Throne: 2022