Manchester City braced for transfer battle with Liverpool over West Ham defender

West Ham United could be at the centre of a transfer tug-of-war between Premier League giants Manchester City and Liverpool next summer, according to one report.

News of fresh interest in London Stadium stars follows a busy summer of confirmed and strongly-rumoured outgoings from David Moyes’ squad, with Declan Rice finalising a deal to exit the club for Arsenal.

Elsewhere, Manchester City showed a keen interest in Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta, but were forced to withdraw from advancing negotiations following the emergence of an ongoing FIFA and FA investigation into betting allegations.

As such, transfer chiefs at City moved towards Wolverhampton Wanderers and Portugal international central midfielder Matheus Nunes, who secured a move to the home of the European champions in a €62 million and after going on strike at Molineux.

Nevertheless it seems as though talks over possible transfers between Manchester City and West Ham United may be far from over, as a new report has revealed a fresh interest from the Premier League champions in another London Stadium star.

That is according to the information of The Sun’s Jack Rosser, who states that both Liverpool and Manchester City are monitoring West Ham’s Nayef Aguerd ahead of next summer, with Jurgen Klopp in particular planning a ‘defensive rebuild’ in 2024.

With regards to interest from officials at the Etihad Stadium, the report highlights that while the Premier League champions ‘admire’ Aguerd, they have a ‘less pressing’ need to invest at the back, especially following the signing of Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig.

The Croatian international became one of four incoming first-team signings at Manchester City over the course of the summer transfer window, as he followed in the footsteps of compatriot Mateo Kovacic – who made a move from Chelsea earlier in the market.

Jeremy Doku became the club’s replacement for Riyad Mahrez after joining from Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais in a £55 million deal, while the aforementioned Matheus Nunes was confirmed as the final arrival on transfer deadline day.

Nunes is the only name of the four yet to have made his Manchester City debut, having trained for a limited amount of time following his move from Wolves, but will have had plenty of time to prepare for the return of club football having not been called up to the Portugal squad for the ongoing international break.