Edson Alvarez continues excellent form as West Ham United ace shines in 100% display v Germany
Edson Alvarez played the full 90 minutes as Mexico drew 2-2 with Germany on Wednesday (18 October) with the West Ham midfielder continuing his impressive start to the season.
Since arriving at the London Stadium from Ajax for £35.4million this summer [Sky Sports, 10 August], the Mexican international has been in inspired form, starting six matches in the Premier League as David Moyes’ side currently sits seventh.
The 25-year-old has stepped into the holding midfield position vacated by Declan Rice with relative ease and has been integral to the Hammers’ positive start, creating an excellent partnership with James Ward-Prowse and Lucas Paqueta in the middle of the park.
Alvarez’s good displays have carried over to his national side as well, where against Julien Nagelsmann’s Germany side on Wednesday he showed his quality in possession as he completed 91.3 per cent of 46 attempted passes, including one key effort to pick out a teammate [Sofascore].
The Mexican international also displayed his range of passing as well, finding a teammate with five of his seven attempts over an extended distance as he ran the home side’s game in possession against the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Jamal Musiala.
There was also a bit of a surprise as the 25-year-old showed off his dribbling ability, a side of his game that the West Ham faithful won’t have seen too much of, as he completed 100% of attempted dribbles in the match, while also testing Marc-Andre ter Stegen with his only effort on goal.
It was a slightly quieter evening for Alvarez out of possession where he only won one of his three ground duels and only one of his two aerial battles, but he did register two interceptions and clearances as Mexico picked up an impressive draw against Germany.
One thing that may have worried Moyes was that the Hammers midfielder once again entered the referee’s book, despite only making one foul in the game, a trait of Alvarez’s game that has become common during his brief time in the Premier League.
In his 503 minutes of League action for the Hammers, the 25-year-old has picked up four yellow cards already and a further one in the Europa League and is now at risk of picking up a suspension should he enter the referee’s book again in the coming weeks.
Moyes will want his midfield talisman available whenever possible and won’t want to be losing him to suspension every few months if he keeps collecting bookings at his current rate. Luckily it was the only slight on another impressive display from the former Ajax man.
In other West Ham news, Simon Jordan has been left baffled by Moyes’ current contract situation at the London Stadium