Edson Alvarez has ‘fight on his hands’ for place at West Ham United next to ‘brilliant’ James Ward-Prowse already
Edson Alvarez “has got a fight on his hands” to get into the West Ham starting XI next to the “brilliant” James Ward-Prowse, according to Paul Brown.
Former Daily Star journalist Brown told GIVEMESPORT on 26 September that despite “doubts” over Tomas Soucek’s future the Czech is currently in from and David Moyes is likely to stick with him, while the manager is not seen as one who likes to rotate, leaving the new Mexican arrival potentially on the outside looking in.
Soucek, 28, didn’t start either of the wins against Luton Town or Brighton after the two new signings arrived, but came into the line up for the past two league games, and with a new contract at the London Stadium signed looks set to remain central to the club’s plans.
Brown said: “Yeah, I think there’s a lot of competition in that midfield now for places, so nobody is really guaranteed a spot. James Ward-Prowse has been brilliant so far, and looks like one of the first names on the team sheet.
“But playing next to him is a position that is really up for grabs. I think Alvarez has got a fight on his hands. Obviously, Soucek’s future, there are still some doubts about that. But while he’s performing, I don’t think the manager would have any doubts about starting him.
“So it’s really going to come down to which one of them is doing it in training, and which one the manager prefers on a weekly basis.
“He isn’t someone who likes to rotate a lot, so if you get the shirt, you’re probably going to get a run there and it looks like Soucek might get a run now. We’ll see.”
Space for all
Mohammed Kudus is the wildcard in this scenario because for the games against Manchester City and Liverpool Moyes found a place for all of Ward-Prowse, Alvarez and Soucek.
But with the Ghanian star the headline signing of the summer he isn’t likely to be kept to appearances off the bench for long, even if Moyes is less predictable in that regard than many managers.
Against weaker opposition the former Ajax forward is probably due to start before long, and one of the three central options would have to drop out.
Soucek has looked rejuvenated so far this season after a couple of campaigns which saw a marked drop off from his best.
And while Ward-Prowse has so far looked the signing of the season he is almost certain to be in the first XI, so somebody is going to be left disappointed.
A number of the transfer window arrivals from last season failed to make much of an impact, or receive many opportunities, so Alvarez, a £35.4million capture from Ajax [Sky Sports, 10 August], will have to hope he doesn’t drop out of his manager’s thinking early or he might struggle to convince him to change his mind again.
In other West Ham news, a long-time Moyes starter is now expected to leave the club sooner rather than later after becoming unhappy with what has happened at the London Stadium.