Sources: Rennes respond to £17m West Ham bid for Aguerd
Rennes have rejected a £17million bid from West Ham for defender Nayef Aguerd, Football Insider can exclusively reveal.
The Irons have returned to the negotiating table with a new offer for the centre-back after their previous £15m offer was knocked back.
But a West Ham has told Football Insider that Rennes have made it clear they will not cash in on Aguerd this month.
David Moyes' side will not go beyond £17m for the Morocco international, 25, and will not step up plans to land alternative central defenders.
This site broke the news on 6th July that the Hammers had opened preliminary talks with the Ligue 1 club over a deal for Aguerd.
He was outstanding last season and came to the attention of their recruitment team.
The Irons are prepared to pay a significant sum for that player despite operating within a restricted transfer budget.
The summer exit of Fabian Balbuena has left Moyes with three senior centre-backs in Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson.
However, Ogbonna is 33 and Dawson is 31, while Diop has struggled to maintain consistency.
Aguerd's value has rocketed since he joined Rennes from Dijon last summer for a fee of around £3.6million.
He had an impressive debut campaign at the side that finished 17th in last season's Ligue 1, making 35 league starts among 40 appearances in all competitions.