West Ham United make contact to sign Edson Alvarez in £35m+ update – David Ornstein
West Ham United have made contact with Ajax to express their interest in signing Edson Alvarez, according to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein.
The Hammers have been identifying several targets to replace the outgoing Declan Rice, with Alavarez, Fulham’s Joao Palhinha and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse top Moyes targets in midfield this summer.
And according to Ornstein taking to his personal Twitter account (14 July), the Dutch giants want between £35m to £40m to consider selling the Mexican international.
The Hammers are sent to send a bid for the midfielder, but it is expected to follow.
He tweeted: “West Ham have contacted Ajax to express interest in signing Edson Alvarez. No bid yet – expected to follow.
“Ajax want £35m-40m.
“West Ham United targeting 25yo Mexico international to bolster side in wake of Declan Rice’s impending move to Arsenal.”
Get him in
The Mexican international is an exceptional and “fantastic” player and certainly seems the ideal post-Rice capture, given his dominant showings for Ajax both at domestic level and on the European stage.
Rice’s departure is sure to leave a gaping hole in the West Ham United midfield next season and they’ll desperately need a player capable of being influential both on the ball and off it, and Alvarez perfectly fits the bill.
As per FBRef, over the past year and within Europe’s top-five leagues, Alvarez impressively ranks in the 91st percentile for progressive passes, 93rd for progressive carries and ranked fourth in the Eredivisie last season for the number of dribbles tackled (44) showcasing his destructive and influential qualities in midfield.
The Mexican international is Premier League-ready and given the class of defensive midfielders in the English top flight next season, Alvarez can be amongst that prestigious list should he make the move to East London.
With the Hammers also said to be making moves for the likes of Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, it seems as if Moyes is seriously making moves in the market to fill the void from Rice’s departure.
In other West Ham news, Gianluca Scamacca’s future is up in the air after a loan move was blocked.