Chris Sutton said that Nayef Aguerd has made a “big difference” this season for West Ham United. He thinks the centre-back helped David Moyes fix their problems on defense

West Ham United defender Nayef Aguerd has been called “a major difference” by Chris Sutton this season. His belief is that the central defender was instrumental in helping David Moyes fix the team’s defensive problems.

After missing the first three months of the season due to injury, Aguerd has emerged as an important member of Moyes’ West Ham defence. He has started the past four Premier League matches for the Hammers. The 30-time-capped enforcer also played a key role in the Irons’ victories against Brentford and Derby in the FA Cup.

Since the new year began, Moyes has not given Aguerd a single minute of rest. He has appeared in five games alongside Angelo Ogbonna as his teammate, the most of any player. He has also shared the stage twice with Craig Dawson and once with Thilo Kehrer and once with Kurt Zouma.

Aguerd’s contributions to Moyes and West Ham, as an enforcer earning £64k a week, have impressed Sutton. The former Celtic forward thinks the Moroccan has helped the Hammers fix some of the defensive problems that arose in his absence.

Before Aguerd’s return, West Ham only let in 15 goals throughout 14 Premier League games. After Arsenal (13 wins), Newcastle United (11), Manchester City (12 wins in 13), and Everton (13 wins), this was the fifth-best record in the whole Premier League (14).

In the five Premier League games Aguerd has played for West Ham, the Hammers have let up six goals. While he didn’t exactly light the world on fire against Newcastle, he did show potential against Leeds United in his first start and made several solid tackles against Everton. Sutton wrote for BBC Sport: “Aguerd has made a big difference for them at the back after they had lots of problems in defence when he was injured at the start of the season.”