Latest Arsenal News: Fabrizio Romano says that it might be hard for Chelsea to sign Ajax defender Edson Alvarez in January. Arsenal is also thought to be interested in the Mexican player.
The Italian transfer expert told CaughtOffside that Chelsea has been interested in Alvarez for a while. According to De Telegraaf, the Blues tried to sign the 25-year-old for £43 million at the end of the summer transfer window but failed. 90min now says that West Ham and Arsenal are also interested.
In the last few weeks of the transfer window, Arsenal wanted to sign a midfielder. They tried to sign Alvarez, but that didn’t work out because the versatile Mexican stayed at Ajax. “El Machin” has been in great form for the Dutch giants this season.
Alvarez, who can play both centre-back and midfield, is set to become Ajax’s next big sale after Antony and Lisandro Martinez left for Manchester United this summer. However, if Ajax wants to keep the 25-year-old, Chelsea might have a hard time signing the anchorman.
Latest Arsenal News: Chelsea and Arsenal fight for Edson Alvarez
In fact, if Chelsea can’t sign Alvarez, Arsenal might not be able to sign the Mexican player either. Romano says it could take a lot of money to get the Ajax star away from Amsterdam. They want to keep one of their best players at the club after this season.
Romano said, “He has always been on Chelsea’s list. But Ajax will try to keep him at least until the end of the season. There are no talks going on right now. Chelsea won’t decide on a new midfielder in October. It will take a while. Definitely not an easy one.”
Antony and Martinez leaving Ajax in the summer of 2022 was a huge blow. The Dutch giants will want to avoid a similar situation next year. This could mean that Arsenal and Chelsea will not be able to sign Alvarez.
Even though both London teams might have the money to sign the defensive midfielder, it’s not clear if either will actually go through with the deal, especially if Ajax raises the price they want for the Mexican superstar. [ Latest Arsenal News ]
Latest Barcelona News: Barcelona also enter the fray
Edson Alvarez, a midfielder for Ajax, is the latest player to be linked with a move to Barcelona. Diario Sport says that Alvarez has become a possible replacement for Sergio Busquets. Barca has been keeping a close eye on him this season.
People say that the Catalans are “determined to sign a high-level pivot” in January. Alvarez, Ruben Neves, and Enzo Fernandez can all be added to that list.
Neves is thought to be the favourite right now, especially since he has been linked to Barca recently, but he isn’t the only option.
Due to Barca’s financial situation, it might be hard for them to sign Alvarez. Sport says that Ajax rejected a €50 million offer from Chelsea for the Mexican in the summer. The Eredivisie team didn’t want to sell because they wouldn’t have had time to find a replacement and are likely to ask for a higher fee in the winter.
Busquets is in the last year of his contract. But he hasn’t said what he wants to do yet. Many people have said that he will leave, but he has said that he hasn’t decided yet.