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Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with transfer interest in the West Ham midfielder, who is said to be unhappy at the London Stadium.
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Something is rotten in the state of West Ham this season and Graham Potter must weed out those issues this summer, or else risk a similar fate to that of Julen Lopetegui after just eight months in charge at the London outfit.
Hammers striker Niclas Fullkrug blasted his teammates’ attitude after the 1-1 draw with relegated Southampton at the weekend and he was right to do so - it’s the first real moment the £27 million man has endeared himself to fans this season. The striker didn’t name any names, but it won’t take Sherlock Holmes to work out who he may have been referring to.
West Ham midfielder Edson Alvarez was absent from the matchday squad at the London Stadium last weekend. This week, Claret & Hugh has reported that the Mexico international has now been told he is free to leave the club this summer after a ‘disagreement behind the scenes’.
Tottenham Hotspur linked with West Ham midfielder
The outlet quotes a ‘training ground source’ that said: “Something happened before the Southampton game, there was a disagreement—and I wouldn’t be surprised if he never played for West Ham again.”
At the same time, a social media post on X from Mexican journalist Kery Ruiz has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur have had their ears pricked by the news and could make a move for the player. He wrote: “Edson Alvarez will not remain at West Ham United next season. The club has informed him that it can pursue options but is expecting offers above 35 million euros (£30m) to let him leave. There is interest from Monaco, Dortmund, and in recent days reports of Tottenham as well.”
West Ham forked out £32 million to sign Alvarez from Ajax in the summer of 2023 as David Moyes looked to plug the hole left by Declan Rice moving to Arsenal. Since then, Alvarez has been an important part of the first team squad and made 70 appearances for the side. Nonetheless, Potter should not be afraid to sell.
In fact, the Hammers manager should perhaps encourage interest from Spurs and do whatever he needs to do to increase the amount the club can sell the midfielder for. Reports of a training ground disagreement are a huge red flag and the kind of attitude that Potter must stamp out immediately if he is to steady the sinking ship he has taken over.
West Ham fans have already seen Vladimir Coufal throw his toys out the pram this season and that type of behaviour from first team players reeks of another dismal campaign next term. It’s not the first time supporters have had the right to be frustrated at Alvarez this season either.
Julen Lopetegui not helped by £32m man’s disciplinary record
With Lopetegui at the helm, the midfielder picked up two silly red cards that changed the result of huge matches for his side. Against Nottingham Forest in November, Alvarez was given his marching orders on the stroke of half time having picked up a second yellow, all but ending the Hammers’ chances of coming back from a 1-0 deficit.
The London side had been far from impressive in the game that far but still stood a chance of picking up points at the City Ground - Lucas Paqueta was just inches away from an equaliser moments before the red card. That dismissal left Lopetegui frustrated after the match and, even as he tried to hide his emotion, the anger was clear to hear.
He said: “We can and we have to do much better. You can prepare the team but the players have to take the right decisions and we have to play with eleven men. It's one of the situations we can avoid because there was no danger of this. We had a lot of players in our box.
“It is a big advantage for the opponent above all because there is a lot of time in front of you. You are losing the match so it was a bad moment for us and a very good moment for them because they wanted to damage us on the counter-attack."
An embarrassed Alvarez went straight down the tunnel after his sending off and he was right to be red-faced - there was no need for either yellow card. The first came for a tug on Murillo, who was on the verge of being dispossessed by Guido Rodriguez. The second was a result of taking out Anthony Elanga on the break in a hot-headed moment that saw him get nowhere near the ball.
Edson Alvarez enduring ‘torrid’ season at London Stadium
Alvarez also saw red in the Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool last September. In that match, Lopetegui's side were 3-1 down but had been enjoying a strong period of play following the introduction of Michail Antonio at Anfield. The Hammers had a couple of penalty shouts and should have pulled one back if Max Kilman could have sorted his feet out.
Alvarez's second yellow came for needlessly clattering into Mohammed Salah, who had already played the ball when contact was made. Speaking on Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher rightly slammed the midfielder for doing that.
He said: “West Ham are so close to getting a goal – and they probably deserve a goal in the second half. It’s a really stupid decision when you’re on a yellow card. There are two or three players around Mo Salah, it’s not on his own. It certainly wasn’t last-ditch. It takes the game away from West Ham now with them being down to 10 men.”
It’s been a torrid season for Alvarez, which is made all the more frustrating by the fact that there is a really talented defensive midfielder in there somewhere. A rebirth at Tottenham Hotspur would be good news for all involved.
In other news, West Ham could fund Premier League flop transfer by selling player who 'wants out'.