West Ham United midfielder Edson Alvarez has been away on international duty with Mexico over the past five days or so.
Edson Alvarez is hugely important for Mexico. He’s their captain, leader and on-field enforcer.
The fact that the West Ham star already has 83 caps for his country at the age of 27 tells its own story.
Mexico international Edson Alvarez is being chased by Chelsea ahead of the summer transfer window.
So he clearly has something special about him. However, we just haven’t seen enough of that at the London Stadium.
It was claimed recently that West Ham could look to sell Edson Alvarez in the summer.
However, something happened on Friday out in the United States that could end up saving the midfielder’s Hammers career.
Edson Alvarez played in new position for Mexico
The former Ajax man, who the Hammers signed for £33 million in the summer of 2023 (Sky Sports Germany), put in a very solid performance for his country against Canada out in California in the early hours of Friday morning.
Alvarez is the heartbeat of the current Mexico team. He actually had a goal disallowed against the Canadians, and his all-round performance was very impressive indeed.
Mexican media outlet Debate raved about his performance during the 2-0 win against Canada for Javier Aguirre’s side.
They also made a very interesting observation about the Hammers midfielder.
Alvarez actually played as a centre-back in the middle of a back three.
Now, if Graham Potter was watching, he would surely have taken a lot from that.
The 27-year-old looked far more comfortable marshalling proceedings from the back rather than in the middle of the park.
Edson Alvarez could save his West Ham career
Alvarez hasn’t been terrible for West Ham.
However, he’s been nowhere near the level we all expect from him.
The 27-year-old’s disciplinary issues have proven to be problematic for the Hammers, with 23 bookings and two red cards in 68 games (Transfermarkt).
His lack of energy, dynamism and ball-carrying ability means that he’s simply not what we need in central midfield right now.
After Edson Alvarez’s performance for Mexico against Canada, I would move him back into the middle of a back three if I was West Ham head coach Graham Potter.
His ability on the ball, and coolness in possession would be crucial for Potter regarding the way that he likes his team to play out from the back.
A positional switch may well end up saving Alvarez’s career at the London Stadium.
