Encouraging news in race for Alvarez

Encouraging news in West Ham`s pursuit of Edson Alvarez.

Voetbal International reported that yesterday the German side Borussia Dortmund pulled out of the race to sign Álvarez, despite agreeing personal terms with the Mexican midfielder.

As the Irons are  in the final stages of agreeing a deal for over £100m for the soon to be departing Declan Rice, we will have enough in the war chest to be in a position to buy him. Ajax however, will no doubt insist on the £35m valuation.

David Moyes has made no secret of the fact that he is an admirer of the Mexican international. The 25-year-old had a very good season in spite of Ajax’s relatively (by their standards) poor season in the Eredivisie. He featured 31 times in the league, scoring three times and providing three assists.

Opta state that Álvarez accumulated the second-highest number of successful passes in the league last season (2129) and won exactly 200 midfield duels. He is the model of consistency and rarely seems to put a foot wrong.

As a replacement for Declan Rice, he could be a perfect fit.