West Ham transfer target Jonathan David had a night to forget when he faced off against West Ham hardman Edson Álvarez. The two met in an international – the 2024-25 Concacaf Nations League Semifinals – which saw Mexico host Canada, but all was not quite as it seemed with the Hammers midfielder.
On this occasion, Álvarez was placed in direct competition with David after being selected to play as a centre-back in Mexico’s back three. The Canadian was playing a central number 10 role – directly up against Alvarez – and only managed one shot ( which was off target) all night.
Those of us who witnessed the horror show that was El Machin playing in central defence against Chelsea earlier this season would have been forgiven for thinking the selection was utter madness from the Mexican national team.
However, the former Ajax player produced a complete shutout, helping his team keep a clean sheet against a talented Canadian side. Not exactly the showcase David would have hoped for, especially with some of Europe’s top clubs looking to take advantage of his free transfer status.
Unfortunately for West Ham, the striker’s no-show is unlikely to discourage anyone’s attempts to sign a player who still appears bound for either Barcelona or Arsenal.
As for Álvarez, let’s just hope this defensive role was an international one-off. All was not plain sailing, indeed Alvarez came within a whisker of conceding a penalty after just nine minutes for a clumsy challenge which he escaped with a fortuitous VAR intervention – so some things never change!
There’s likely little appetite among West Ham fans to see him as the hub of Graham Potter’s defence anytime soon. For the record, Mexico advance to the final to play Panama on Sunday, looking to become the first team other than the host USA to win the trophy.
