West Ham signing ‘exceptional’ Joao Palhinha alternative for just £35 million would be a masterstroke

West Ham United are confident of signing Edson Alvarez from Ajax this summer, and he’ll be a far better addition than Joao Palhinha.

According to Football Insider, West Ham manager David Moyes believes that he’s in a strong position to bring Edson Alvarez to the London Stadium in the summer transfer window for as little as £35 million.

Now, the Hammers will undoubtedly start to step up their pursuit of the 25-year-old Mexican – Moyes target Joao Palhinha dislocated his shoulder during a pre-season friendly clash last night.

Alvarez is someone who has been on Moyes’s radar for the past couple of months as well.

However, Joao Palhinha has been West Ham’s main transfer target all summer long, although Fulham are said to be demanding up to £90 million for him

And the 28-year-old suffering an injury last night means that the Hammers will now pursue a far better deal…

West Ham now confident of signing Joao Palhinha alternative for just £35m

Edson Alvarez is exactly the kind of player Moyes should be signing.

I think that £35 million for the Mexico international would be very good value indeed, and Moyes shouldn’t hesitate to bring him to the London Stadium.

The Mexican is easily as good as Palhinha, if not better and is available for less than half the price of the Fulham man! He’s three years younger as well!

Described by The Daily Mail as an ‘exceptional’ holding midfielder who breaks up play, Alvarez would be a superb replacement for Rice at the London Stadium.

He is absolutely perfectly built for the Premier League what with his impressive physicality, energy levels and tenacious tackling.

In 31 Eredivisie outings last season, the 25-year-old bagged three goals and three assists. During those appearances, he averaged 2.3 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 2.4 clearances per game. He made 77.3 passes on average per game and recorded a mightily impressive completion rate of 88.9% (Who Scored).

Edson Alvarez is not as good on the ball as Declan Rice is, so he’ll have to work hard to improve on that aspect of his game for sure if he is to adequately replace the 24-year-old at the London Stadium.

However, the Ajax man will represent far better value for West Ham than Joao Palhinha would have. He’s a better player as well in my opinion.