Chelsea reportedly still hold an interest in signing Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez, who was also wanted by Arsenal in the summer transfer window as the Mexican was not granted an exit from Amsterdam.
According to the Athletic, the Blues retain a ‘strong interest’ in the 24-year-old defensive midfielder after Chelsea had a €50m (£43m) bid rejected by Ajax for Alvarez on deadline day as reported by De Telegraaf, with Arsenal and Newcastle also eyeing a move for the Eredivisie star.
With De Telegraaf stating that Alvarez is keen to move to the Premier League, Chelsea could well sign the Mexican in the January window if they launch a strong enough bid for the midfielder, even with the Dutch giants losing two key players in the window to Manchester United in Antony and Lisandro Martinez.
It is widely believed that these two previous transfers are why Ajax rejected Chelsea’s late advances to sign Alvarez. Yet with January fast approaching, the Blues could make a new attempt in 2023 under Graham Potter, who is seemingly a fan of the midfielder.
As per the Athletic, Todd Boehly is keen to lower the average age of the squad with Chelsea having one of the oldest teams in the Premier League, whilst Arsenal’s remains the youngest as Mikel Arteta’s recent transfer policy has breathed new life into the north London side. Yet the Basque coach will not want to miss out on Alvarez.
Indeed, a quality back-up and long-term replacement to Thomas Partey will likely be one of Arsenal’s main transfer targets for 2023. And Alvarez fits the bill for this role perfectly, with the defensive midfielder five years younger than the Ghanian international. Though interest from Chelsea could cause problems.
Chelsea are much better suited to beat Arsenal to Alvarez signing
Chelsea’s transfer policy under Boehly and Potter seems awfully similar to the plan Arteta and Edu Gaspar have stuck to over the past 12 months. Yet given the west London side’s substantially bigger bank balance and participation in the UEFA Champions League, the Blues should consider themselves favourites to land Alvarez.
After all, a quality defensive midfielder to replace both N’Golo Kante and Jorginho in the long-term should be considered an important move for Chelsea, and very few players in Europe can compete with what Alvarez can do, especially at his age.
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