AFC Ajax’s Edson Alvarez opens up on failed Chelsea move
AFC Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez has lifted the lid on his failed move to Chelsea over the summer. The 25-year-old stated that the Blues were a step away from snapping him up, but Ajax couldn’t afford to lose a player who was the only one they had at his position.
Alvarez mentioned that he was disappointed with the way Chelsea’s pursuit flattened, adding that he’s convinced a bigger club will come calling in due course.
Chelsea oversaw a massive squad overhaul this summer window, spending £268m on defenders Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly, and Raheem Sterling.
Meanwhile, Ajax were on the other side of spiral as they experienced an exodus with several stars departing the club, in the process generating over £150m worth of revenue from player sales alone.
Erik ten Hag moved to Manchester United as the club’s new manager and was followed by Antony and Lisandro Martinez. Meanwhile, Noussair Mazraoui, Ryan Gravenberch and Sebastien Haller secured Bundesliga moves.
Chelsea slapped a £43m bid for Alvarez on deadline day, realising their need for a back-up defensive midfielder, owing to Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante’s injury woes, as well as Jorginho’s workload.
The Mexico international confirmed the attempt from the West Londoners, stating “There was interest from Chelsea. Nobody expected that they would make another offer. It was a difficult situation. Ajax really couldn’t do anything. They didn’t have a player in my position. Of course, I fought as far as I could. I didn’t want to do that too much.”
He continued “Because I know the responsibility I have within the club. I am very disappointed, but I am convinced that sooner or later a big club will come for me.”
Chelsea instead, roped in Denis Zakaria from Juventus on loan. The Swiss international has yet to make much of an impact thus far in 2022.
Graham Potter’s side have been linked with a host of midfielders, with Jorginho and Kante entering the final few months of their contracts.
Alvarez is one of them, but he’s being closely monitored by Barcelona according to various rumours, as they seek Sergio Busquets’ long-term replacement.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Светлана Бекетова. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.