- West Ham eye Ajax's Edson Alvarez
- Hammers yet to make first-team signing
- Mexican inching closer to Premier League move
WHAT HAPPENED? West Ham have been linked with a move for Ajax defensive midfielder Alvarez. The Hammers have been looking to find a replacement for midfielder Declan Rice after selling him to Arsenal for £105million ($133m) in July and now Dutch outlet AD says a five-year contract has been agreed. However, a fee for the 25-year-old, whose contract at Ajax expires in 2025, is yet to be finalised. The report states negotiations will resume in the coming days for the Mexican international; who nearly joined Borussia Dortmund earlier this summer, only for the move to collapse.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: West Ham, who won the Europa Conference League last season, are yet to make a single first-team signing ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. They have sold Rice, left-back Arthur Masuaku, and midfielder Manuel Lanzini but no new recruits have joined.
AND WHAT'S MORE: The 6ft 2in Alvarez, who can also play as a centre-back, has played 147 times for Ajax, scoring 13 goals in the process. He has also been capped 68 times by his country and was reportedly a former target for Chelsea.
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WHAT NEXT? Ajax's season gets underway against Heracles on August 12 whereas West Ham begin their Premier League campaign away to Bournemouth on the same day. It remains to be seen which team Alvarez will be playing for by that point.