West Ham United will target a much higher position than their 10th place finish last season and have already made a strong signing in Spanish attacking midfielder Pablo Fornals.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side will need to add players in several positions and one of the positions they are aiming to fortify is the centre-back slot. The Hammers are linked with Mexican defender Edson Álvarez, who was a part of the Gold Cup squad that won the tournament recently.
Record are reporting that the London club are one of the many clubs interested in the versatile player but they will have to fend off competition from Wolves and Ajax for the signature of the 21-year-old.
A recent report has stated that Alvarez’s club America could be tempted to sell the defender for a fee of around £12 million, as per FourFourTwo. The Mexican could be tempted to make the move and join up with his compatriot Javier Hernandez at the London stadium.
Alvarez came through the ranks at America and made his senior debut in 2016 and has made over 100 appearances for the club despite being just 21 years of age. He’s also made 23 appearances for the Mexican national team, most recently in the Gold Cup.
What will he add to the team?
Alvarez is a versatile player who is capable of playing as a right-back as well as a defensive midfielder apart from his main role as a centre-back.
The 21-year-old is technically gifted, has great anticipatory skills and has the ability to carry the ball out of defence. Alvarez is a good tackler of the ball, as well as makes key interceptions, while his passing is also very good, as one would expect from a modern-day defender.
The Hammers need to add at least one centre-back to their squad ahead of the 2019-20 season, as they are low on options at the back. The central defensive pairing of Issa Diop and Fabián Balbuena was a fruitful one last season but with Winston Reid still out due to injury and not playing a single game in the last campaign, and Reece Oxford set to leave the club, Pellegrini needs to add another option to his backline, which makes Alvarez a good signing in that regard.