Slaven Bilic dismisses West Ham United interest in Bacary Sagna

West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic has dismissed the prospect of signing former Arsenal and Manchester City defender Bacary Sagna this month.


The France international has been on the search for a new club since his release from the Citizens at the end of last season.

Recent reports suggested that the under-fire Hammers boss could turn to the veteran right-back, who could provide added experience to his squad. However, writing in his Standard Sport column, the Croatian has ruled out the club's chances by suggesting that there is no need to sign another right-back.

He wrote: "We have been linked with Bacary Sagna, who is out of contract and a free agent. Bacary is a fine player who has played at the highest standard, but he is a full-back and this is not a position in which we need strengthening."

The Hammers rotated their options at right-back last season as they utilised the likes of Michail Antonio, Cheikhou Kouyate and Sam Byram in separate stages of the campaign. However, they have managed to find a solution this term with Sagna's former City team-mate Pablo Zabaleta cementing his place on the right side of the backline.

West Ham United have gone through a rough patch in the Premier League after losing the first three league games in disappointing fashion away from home. The 2017 World Athletics Championships forced a delay in preparing the football pitch at the London Stadium, but the pitch is now good to go for the league outing against Huddersfield Town on Monday night.

The Terriers have been one of the surprise packages on their top-flight return, and they have already accumulated seven points on the table. Irrespective of this, Bilic will be relatively confident of a first league win as the Hammers have plenty of game-changers in their ranks who could pose a threat to David Wagner's men.