“Don’t You Dare” | Player Swap Would Be Backwards Step
I sincerely hope that West Ham are not even remotely considering including Edson Alvarez in any swap deal for Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
It goes without saying that, although the Mexican had a few disciplinary issues last season, his transfer to West Ham was a resounding success. Alvarez was one of the players I believed to be absolutely perfect for new Hammers head coach Julen Lopetegui’s possession based system.
Eddie’s strategic positioning allows him to slot seamlessly into the defence, which is going to be a huge factor in the upcoming season with Lopetegui’s preference for using attacking fullbacks.
Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have even paid much attention to such a preposterous swap deal between the Hammers and Man United. That’s no reflection on Wan-Bissaka, who is a decent enough player; however, in terms of value, they are miles apart. While I’m sure the Manchester club would throw some money our way to sweeten the deal, I still believe that West Ham would come out the other side worse off in this transfer.
Then there is the breaking news that the club are interested in French midfielder N’Golo Kanté, who of course plays in a similar role to Alvarez. Perhaps there’s nothing linking the two stories and I’m reading far too much into it; however, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a concern.
West Ham needs to push forward this season and improve; we’re not going to do that by selling our best players.
