Edson Alvarez is planning to quit Ajax to take on a new challenge in a higher league after spending four years in the Netherlands. His first 18 months at Ajax were challenging after being hired as Matthijs de Ligt’s defensive successor. Alvarez only participated in 27% of the league’s available minutes during that time.
But after making an impact in midfield, he quickly rose to the top of the squad roster. Only Dusan Tadic` and Timber have played a greater number of minutes for Ajax in the Eredivisie over the previous two and a half seasons than Alvarez, who has been on the field 77% of the time in his club’s league games.
Ajax’s 2022–23 season was extremely poor, although Alvarez was one of the team’s best players and ultimately proved to be irreplaceable. Throughout the whole Eredivisie season, he missed three games, and Ajax won one, drew one, and lost one of those contests while giving up seven goals. The Mexican started at centre back against Feyenoord on Matchday 17 for the first time this year as Alfred Schreuder sought for a player with better strength in that position. Alvarez’s defensive contributions, though, were greatly missed in midfield.
How impactful was the Mexican for Ajax?
Only Ramiz Zerrouki of FC Twente and Thom Haye of Heerenveen initiated more open play possessions than Alvarez during the previous campaign, which is defined as a player making the initial move for their side to turn over possession and keep the ball. And when he had the ball, he wasn’t afraid to advance the game.
Alvarez also ranked 15th overall in the league for successful tackles, which are ones where possession is kept after a tackle, more than any other Ajax player, which is impressive for a player on a club with an average possession share of 67%. He showed his strength by dominating 200 duels, the third-most in the league after Xavi Simons of PSV and Tobias Lauritsen of Sparta Rotterdam.
After working with Ten Hag for many years, Alvarez gained a solid understanding of the fundamentals of the game. These concepts include employing touches to control the tempo and orienting the body in the best way possible. However, not many players possess all of these skill sets.
Edson Alvarez playing attributes-
The recent play of Edson Alvarez as a central defender alongside Dutch international Jurrin Timber has caused issues for Ajax’s defensive midfield position. Alvarez’s successors, Florian Grillitsch and Kenneth Taylor, both fell short of the standards necessary to play consistently for Ajax at this position. Taylor plays in the centre of the field, not the defensive midfield position. Silvano Vos has extraordinary skill, but he isn’t yet ready to participate in 40 or more games for Ajax’s first squad.
For an Ajax defensive midfielder, it is crucial to act as a playmaker and advance the ball up the pitch. The next most crucial task for an Ajax defensive midfielder is defending. Good defensive posture, vision, and decision-making are essential for the defensive midfielder.
Although he has excellent ball handling abilities, it is unquestionably his defensive play that makes him a standout player. He can play any position and be a very good defender because to the defensive skills he possesses. Strong defender Alvarez made two tackles, one block, and two clearances on average per 90 minutes in Mexico last season.
Even though his placement is often quite solid, his quickness and ability to swiftly close space for opponents allow for the relatively easy cover-up of any positioning errors. His horizontal motions, which he does as a number four, are even more amazing than his vertical ones.
Alvarez can be the perfect Declan Rice replacement-
Rodri has the highest similarity percentage (81%) when Alvarez’s statistics are compared to midfielders from those leagues. Being named in the same sentence with the person who scored the game-winning goal in the Champions League final isn’t all that horrible.
Alvarez is now a target for West Ham as they search for Declan Rice’s replacements. Finding a successor for their captain will be one of David Moyes’ top priorities, but Alvarez would provide them a strong, combative, and flexible midfield alternative who could also play center-back. Alvarez has demonstrated that he is certainly capable of achieving both of those things, as well as imitating Rice’s perseverance in the centre of the field, which was one of Rice’s greatest qualities.
