It's been a gripping campaign once again under David Moyes' guidance at West Ham United, albeit a year characterised by ups and downs, bleakness and brilliance.
Last year's stuttering season was papered over by the triumphant conquest in the Europa Conference League, which admittedly sculpted a level of success few would have envisaged when Moyes returned to the relegation-threatened club in 2019.
And despite the £105m sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal, West Ham have waded deep into the Europa League, facing Xabi Alonso's indomitable Bayer Leverkusen in the last eight, also battling a host of rivals for a qualifying league spot in next season's European competition.
Long has Moyes' tactical set-up received criticism for a perceived pragmatic approach, though success speaks for itself and the Scottish gaffer has worked wonders in lifting the Irons to heights unseen in many years.
Defensive solidity and cohesion have been an intrinsic part of Moyes' style throughout his time in east London but West Ham have lost some of that grit this season, with their 54 top-flight conceded the highest tally of any side in the top 12.
Where has it gone wrong? One of the biggest issues that Moyes has had to wrestle with is the sharp fall of Nayef Aguerd, who came third in United's Player of the Season award for 2022/23, behind Rice and Said Benrahma.
Nayef Aguerd's season in numbers
West Ham signed Aguerd from French club Rennes in a £30m package back in 2022 after the Moroccan had made his name with some stellar showings, stemming from a "world-class youth academy", as was said by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Injuries marred his 2022/23 campaign – Aguerd was sidelined at the start of the campaign with an ankle issue sustained in pre-season – but he impressed with his robust style nonetheless, averaging 4.3 clearances per game in the Premier League and winning 64% of his ground duels, as per Sofascore.
However, he's failed to build on that first-term promise since the summer and was criticised for his error-strewn efforts, with The Athletic's Roshane Thomas noting that "defensive errors are holding him back."
Clearly, this is something that Moyes has noted, with summer signing Konstantinos Mavropanos taking the 28-year-old's place of late, Aguerd starting just one of the past five top-flight matches, with his sole start coming in the calamitous defensive display against Burnley.
While his Premier League performances this season have been punctuated with mistakes and defensive lapses, Aguerd remains a quality defender and this is revealed through his seasonal metrics, completing 80% of his passes, averaging five ball recoveries and 3.9 clearances per game and winning 65% of his ground duels.
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This player had been in excellent form before making the move to east London.
