Chelsea will make a fresh attempt to land Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez in January after failing to secure his services on deadline day, CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs claims.
The Blues made a formal £43 million bid for the Mexico international on August 31, but Ajax were against selling him, considering the Dutch transfer window was closing on the same day.
Alvarez tried to push for a transfer by refusing to train, but Ajax stayed firm on their transfer stance. According to Jacobs, Chelsea will make a fresh approach for the 24-year-old at the turn of the year.
The journalist added that the player has been directly assured that the Blues will return for him, having been left disappointed by the failure to join the club during this summer’s transfer window.
Our view:
Chelsea were desperate to land a defensive midfielder before the transfer deadline, and they eventually secured the services of Juventus’ Denis Zakaria on loan with an option to buy next summer.
The Blues’ decision to sign him came out of the blue and it remains to be seen whether Zakaria can make a much better impact than Saul Niguez, who had a tough loan spell from Atletico last term.
Meanwhile, Alvarez would have been a superb acquisition for the Blues with all-round qualities. He is strong with his tackles, clearances and has a good aerial presence. He is also fluent with his distribution.
Aside from this, the Mexican can chip in with the odd goal contribution. At 24, he is in the prime of his career, and would have proved a top-notch signing. Hence, we won’t be surprised if Chelsea return for him.
Chelsea definitely need to look into the future with Jorginho and N’Golo Kante in their 30s. Both players have showed signs of regression, and the latter has become injury-prone over the past few years.
