Chelsea may come back in with a January transfer swoop for Ajax star Edson Alvarez.
At least he’ll be hoping that is the case, with journalist Simon Phillips revealing the midfielder’s intent on plying his trade in a Blues shirt following the club’s unsuccessful £43m bid in the summer.
What’s the word?
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Phillips said: “I’m told there’s still tentative interest from Chelsea’s side in Alvarez. Obviously, they tried to sign him on deadline day in the summer. He was very keen to go. It looked at one point Ajax would accept our offer, but they didn’t in the end.
“They didn’t want to let him go that close to the deadline and they couldn’t replace him, so they told him he had to stay. He was disappointed by it and he’s waiting and expecting Chelsea to come back in for him again in January.”
Much-needed
Alvarez would a skill set that Chelsea currently need in their midfield engine room.
A well-rounded asset, the 25-year-old excels in both phases of the game, topping the charts at Ajax for some defensive-minded metrics with his match averages of 1.5 interceptions and three clearances. He also has the second-best tackling average at the Johan Cruyff Arena with 1.5 per game.
With two assists to boot, his ability to progress play in the form of his 3.6 accurate long balls per 90 is an aspect that Chelsea are sorely lacking for in the heart of midfield, with none of their central options coming close to this.
Add in Alvarez’s ability to dictate play with his average of 65.8 accurate passes per game at a success rate of 87.6% and you have a willing asset who appears to possess all of the attributes needed to thrive at the core of the Stamford Bridge midfield.
With an apparent will on both sides to make this transfer happen, expect to hear plenty more about it in the run-up to, and throughout, the January transfer window.
