Jose Mourinho’s Spurs are reportedly keen to bring Edson Alvarez to the Premier League with the Mexican enduring a season to forget with Ajax.
Edson Alvarez just can’t catch a break right now.
The £13 million Mexico international has gone from big-name summer signing to expensive benchwarmer just halfway through his debut season at Ajax, having featured in just two of the club’s last 10 Eredivisie games.
So the last thing his reputation needed, while making the the rarest of starts in midweek, was to cost the Amsterdam giants a place in the KNVB Cup final. But that is exactly what happened.
Utrecht forward Sander Van der Streek certainly made the most of minimal contact but, diving into a foolish challenge inside the box with all the subtlety of a Michael Bay blockbuster, Alvarez only had himself to blame as Ajax went 2-0 down in the semi-final from the penalty spot.
It was a lead Utrecht would not relinquish as Ajax’s hopes of a second successive domestic double went up in smoke.
Head coach Erik Ten Hag did his best to back the out-of-favour 21-year-old after another disastrous game for the out-of-sorts Dutch giants, while simultaneously explaining why Alvarez has fallen so far down the pecking order in recent weeks.
“(Fellow centre-back) Perr Schuurs has developed to such an extend that he deserves a chance,” Ten Hag told Ajax TV. “For Edson, it was an annoying moment for the second (Utrecht) goal, especially when there is no contract.
“But, in general, he deserves a pass.”
De Telegraaf reports that Tottenham Hotspur are offering the former Club America star a fresh start in North London, despite seeing a January bid for Alvarez blocked by Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars two months ago.
And it feels increasingly like a parting of the ways would be for the best.
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