David Moyes shared his thoughts on centre-back pairing Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd after the duo started together for the first time against AEK Larnaca in midweek.
Injuries to the defensive duo throughout the season mean they have rarely been seen together on the field since Aguerd’s summer arrival from French club Rennes.
Aguerd suffered an ankle injury in a pre-season friendly against Rangers which delayed his competitive Hammers debut to the end of October. He has since gone on to feature 16 times for Moyes’ side.
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Meanwhile, a knee and hamstring injury has limited Zouma to just three appearances since the World Cup break. The Frenchman and Moroccan international Aguerd played the full 90 minutes of the Everton win in January but were part of a centre-back trio that also included Angelo Ogbonna.
The duo first partnered together as a centre-back pairing for the final 21 minutes of the 4-0 defeat against Brighton last weekend, with Zouma coming off the bench to replace experienced Italian defender Ogbonna.
Zouma and Aguerd started together in a two-man central defence for the first time for the Europa Conference League win against AEK Larnaca in midweek. Despite keeping a clean sheet, Moyes believes that their partnership may take time to gel.
“I keep repeating myself because I see things I like and I don’t like,” Moyes told football.london. “I think we’re still waiting on Nayef, we think he’s still getting used to Premier League football.
“[Against Larnaca] obviously the first time he’s played alongside Kurt, Kurt had his first game for a long time. There’s something about Kurt playing that just makes us look a little bit more real and proper. Hopefully we can get him in the right condition over the next month or two.”
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