Arsenal considered a late move for Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez before eventually securing a deal for Jorginho.
That’s according to The Athletic, who have been discussing Arsenal’s attempts to sign a midfielder during the January window.
They note that Declan Rice just wasn’t possible in the January window and Brighton stood firm over Moises Caicedo.
Arsenal were willing to pay €60million to sign Martin Zubimendi but he wanted to stay with Real Soceidad.
That left Arsenal to consider a move for Ajax star Alvarez but they ended up picking Chelsea midfielder Jorginho instead.
That’s quite interesting given that Alvarez and Jorginho are different profiles but Arsenal’s interest in the Mexican has been long-standing.
Arsenal wanted Edson Alvarez last summer too
90Min reported in the build-up to the summer transfer deadline that Arsenal were interested in signing Alvarez.
No deal materialised but it seems that Arsenal kept the Ajax star on their radar for this month too.
Premier League rivals Chelsea and Newcastle United were also interested in signing Alvarez but Ajax stood firm.
Ajax had lost a raft of key players over the summer with Andre Onana, Noussair Mazraoui, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico, Ryan Gravenberch, Antony and Sebastien Haller all moving on.
Ajax didn’t want to lose Alvarez too so kept him in Amsterdam, but that didn’t stop Arsenal’s interest.
Alvarez, 25, is a big and strong anchor man in the middle of the park, expertly protecting his back four.
That style earned praise from Rio Ferdinand, who called Alvarez ‘so invaluable’ earlier this season in light of criticism from Wesley Sneijder.
Alvarez maybe isn’t as quick across the ground as Thomas Partey but he certainly understands how to anchor a midfield and has been branded ‘the silent force’ of the Ajax team.
Jorginho is a fine passer but there have been question marks over his defensive abilities and his tempo in this Arsenal team.
It’s interesting that Arsenal seemingly had a number of different profiles in mind for that holding midfield role, with Caicedo, Rice, Alvarez and Jorginho all pretty different.
Maybe Arsenal will continue to keep tabs on Alvarez ahead of the summer, just in case they can’t sign Caicedo, Rice or Zubimendi at the end of the season.
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