Why Edson Álvarez is perfect for West Ham United

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It might be desperately close to the start of the season, but West Ham United have finally signed their Declan Rice replacement at the base of their midfield. In my in-depth analysis of who the Hammers should sign, I ranked Álvarez second to Florentino Luís, as an absolute must-sign. For the fee they accumulated for Rice, I made the claim that they should sign both players, especially given the Mexican’s exceptional awareness on the defensive end, whilst complimenting much of Rice’s on-the-ball dominance. Here is why West Ham United made the right call in signing Álvarez, and why the £33 million signing should be a steal.

POSITIONING & ROLE

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Edson Álvarez typically played as a ‘#6’ at the base of Ajax’s 4-3-3, acting as both the ‘Midfield Destroyer’ and ‘Deep-Lying-Playmaker’ for their possession-based principles. As we discussed with Declan Rice’s move to Arsenal, these are the exact same roles that Rice commonly fulfilled for the Hammers.

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Now in what will likely be a 4-2-3-1 and a partnership with Tomáš Souček, Edson Álvarez will continue his defensive dominance, whilst offering similar features to Rice in possession. I’ve heard some discourse that West Ham United simply can’t replace the brilliance of Rice, and would be better off signing several players to try and piece together his qualities.

Edson Álvarez is essentially as close as you can get to being able to replace as many of Rice’s attributes, even if you can’t replace the world-class talent of the Brit. He’s an excellent ball-carrier, extremely aware on the defensive end, a promising forward passer, and a physical specimen difficult to stop in all phases of the game. Sound like anyone you know?

With all those attributes in mind, you can see why we ranked him so highly in our analysis of how to replace Rice.

DEFENSIVE PRINCIPLES

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Starting with the defensive side of the game since David Moyes is ultimately a defensively-minded manager, Edson Álvarez comes out as an exceptional fit for this team. He’s great at all the shuffling, happy to spend time doing the dirty work, and reads the game better than most midfielders in the world. West Ham are a team that look to force errors rather than throwing themselves into challenges, and the same cannot necessarily be said for the Mexican midfielder.

Álvarez loves a crunching tackle, with only Florentino Luís ranking ahead of him on possession-adjusted sliding tackles (1.75 to 1.35) on our 30-player database of midfielders that could replace Rice. That tough-tackling approach led to 0.4 yellow cards per 90 last season, which is something West Ham may want the midfielder to clean up.

That said, an exceptionally smart reader of the game, no player in our database made more possession-adjusted interceptions than the 25-year-old (9.2 per 90). This isn’t just through smart reading of the game, but an ability to quickly get his body in the way of an opponent and use those long-legs and imposing 6’1 frame. He intercepts many moves through leaping in the air, with a variety of foot, head and chest recoveries.

On top of that, he competed in nearly double the aerial duels of any other player in that 30-player database (next highest McTominay, who is also linked with the club). Go back to his heatmap, and see how he spikes red from his importance across set-pieces at both ends of the pitch.

That put the Ajax man in the top 1% of midfielders across eight of the top leagues across the world on aerial duels won (3.38), even despite the Dutch club preferring to play with the ball at their feet. When he’s then winning 59% of those aerial duels, it’s easy to see why a club like West Ham put him at the top of their target list.

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The Hammers thrive off physical superiority, such as the ability to compete in aerial duels and fend off smaller attackers in 1v1 situations. Álvarez checks both boxes, and checks them better than just about anyone in his position.

ATTACKING PRINCIPLES

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Despite his dominance on the defensive end, this is far from just a defensively-minded, combative warrior. He hails from Ajax, after all. In fact, his vision and awareness on the ball is what tipped us over the edge when it came to Álvarez over other options.

When you give him the ball, you can be confident that he will be calm and composed under pressure, and make a sensible decision. But then he’s also capable of making those long-spreading switches of play.

Declan Rice loved to carry the ball, and it became a hallmark of what made him such a driving force for the Hammers. Álvarez ticks that box too, comfortably using his physical prowess to evade pressure and burst into space.

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Álvarez completed 90.6% of his passes in 2022-23, ranking just below Declan Rice’s 90.8%. Playing for Ajax, you’d be right to assume that he had the more demanding set of passes to pull off, including more long, forward, and progressive passes.

He’ll be happy to keep the game ticking along, and likely the key member of their build-up to progression alongside Harry Maguire next season.

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This is a phenomenal signing from West Ham United, and one that comes as close to replacing Rice as they could have imagined. Edson Álvarez is perfect for the Hammers, and we can’t wait to see him in the Premier League next season.

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