Saudi Arabian clubs planning late moves for West Ham's Nayef Aguerd, Pablo Fornals?

West Ham United duo Nayef Aguerd and Pablo Fornals are reportedly attracting interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia.

Aguerd joined the Hammers from Rennes last summer for around £30m and has since established himself as a key central defender under manager David Moyes.

The Morocco international, who helped his nation reach the 2022 World Cup semi-finals, endured an injury-hit debut campaign with West Ham last season, but he still featured 30 times in all competitions and won the Europa Conference League.

Even though Aguerd still has four years remaining on his contract at the London Stadium, Football Insider reports that Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad are planning a 'shock' move for the defender.

Managed by former Premier League boss Nuno Espirito Santo, Al-Ittihad have already made a number of high-profile signings this summer including Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Fabinho.

© Reuters

The Saudi side have until Thursday to complete their transfer business, but they are hoping to get at least a couple more deals over the line, most notably the potential world-record signing of Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.

Aguerd is also said to be high on Al-Ittihad's list of targets, but @GoalSA on Twitter claims that West Ham will refuse to part ways with the 27-year-old as they are unable to sign a replacement now that the English transfer window has closed.

West Ham's No.27 is not the only player that is attracting interest from the Middle East, as Football Insider claims that versatile midfielder Fornals is wanted by Saudi Pro League clubs.

The 27-year-old was not considered a first-team regular under Moyes last season as he started only 17 of his 32 Premier League appearances, while he only started in five of West Ham's 13 fixtures in the Europa Conference League.

© Reuters

Fornals has since started just one of the Hammers' opening four top-flight matches in the new campaign, coming on as a substitute in each of the last three, and he appears to have fallen behind the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Said Benrahma in the pecking order.

The big-money arrival of Mohammed Kudus from Ajax could also have an effect on Fornals' minutes as the Ghana international is comfortable operating across the front three or as an advanced midfielder.

Fornals has entered the final year of his contract at the London Stadium, although West Ham are understood to have the option to extend his deal by a further 12 months.

The Spain international has contributed with 23 goals and 19 assists in 184 appearances for the Hammers across all tournaments since joining from Villarreal in 2019.