West Ham looking to offload players is no news to anyone — after all, the club have been unsuccessfully trying to shift those on the unwanted list since the start of June.
Now, with deadline day just a couple of weeks away, the transfer ducks seem to be lining up for the Hammers, and it looks like Edson Álvarez could be the next out the door.
Much to many people’s displeasure — and a fair number of ‘non-believers’ — Martin wrote last week that the Mexican was expected to depart imminently. Having spoken to an agent, it had become clear that West Ham had hired intermediaries to try and move on Álvarez, Guido Rodríguez and Andy Irving.
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An offer for Irving can’t be far off now, but today it’s the turn of Álvarez, with first Fabrizio Romano and now Jacob Steinberg confirming that José Mourinho is chasing the 27-year-old. the former Chelsea boss is now in charge of Turkish outfit Fenerbahçe and is said to be a big fan of ‘El Machin’.
Talks are understood to have begun for a loan deal with an option to buy, which would cover the midfielder’s wages. It’s certainly not the deal many fans were hoping for, but the unpalatable fact is that nobody will offer anywhere near what West Ham paid Ajax.
In short, it’s a bad deal for the club — but one that may allow just enough wriggle room to recruit the midfielder Graham Potter’s team so desperately need.
Personally, I’m starting to lose faith that any form of transfer window competency will prevail over the coming fortnight.