West Ham may FINALLY sign their Declan Rice replacement with personal terms agreed
By Evan Curnew
West Ham have a tough go getting summer spending started after selling Declan Rice to Arsenal. Perhaps it is because everyone knows the money they have available, and West Ham does not want to be taken advantage of. The club has even gone as far as advertising their positions of need on TransferRoom, a transfer forum used by many clubs to help ignite transfers. Things may finally be starting to look up for West Ham as they have agreed to personal terms with Edson Alvarez.
Fabrizio Romano confirms this news and says that Alvarez has “said yes” to joining West Ham this window. Romano suggests that negotiations between West Ham and Ajax for the midfielder will happen over the course of the weekend.
It will be interesting to watch the talks as West Ham has already been willing to drop interest in a player if sellers don’t budge on price. As The Top Flight has reported, West Ham seemingly has dropped their interest in Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, with the £40m valuation being a sticking point. It is believed that manager David Moyes and sporting director Tim Steidten have had a hard time seeing eye to eye with transfer this summer.
Edson Alvarez is much more of a Declan Rice replacement than Ward-Prowse, given he is actually a defensive midfielder. Alvarez joined Ajax in 2019 from Club America after the Mexican impressed during the 2019 Gold Cup, which they ultimately won. During his tenure at Ajax, Alvarez has been regarded as one of the best midfielders every season, and it is now earned him the right to Premier League interest. He’s won the Eredivisie twice with Ajax as well as adding a KNVB Cup to his trophy cabinet.
Alvarez, more recently, has had appearances as a centre-back for Ajax, but it will be expected he will play as a midfielder under David Moyes.