'Send him to London!' - Ajax should sell Alvarez to Chelsea, claims Sneijder

James Shearman

Updated: 27 Oct 2022 22:11 BST
3 min read

Chelsea lined up Ajax's Edson Alvarez as the answer to their defensive midfield problem in the summer transfer window.

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The Blues made a €50 million bid, according to reports, as well as offering Alvarez a significant pay rise.

But Ajax were not interested in letting the Mexico international leave the club, having already lost the likes of Sebastien Haller, Lisandro Martinez, Ryan Gravenberch and Antony.

However, former Ajax midfielder Wesley Sneijder thinks his old club made a poor decision in keeping Alvarez at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

''[Alvarez] plays everything back or everything wide,'' he said on Veronica Offside.

''He's no use to you. They should have sent him to London very quickly. You really could have brought back two good, nice players for that.''

Alvarez to Chelsea in January?

Chelsea are interested in signing Edson Alvarez in the January transfer window, Fabrizio Romano wrote in his CaughtOffside column.

It is possible that Ajax would have accepted Chelsea's offer in the summer had it not been for the high turnover of their first-team squad.

And by pushing the date of the transfer back to January, the Eredivisie club are then afforded the time to identify a replacement.

Graham Potter again on Denis Zakaria: "Denis has conducted himself fantastically well with the group. He's fighting for the team, he's been really professional in training and he's waiting for his opportunity". 🔵 #CFC

"I'm sure that will come round soon". pic.twitter.com/jWADaWaz7j

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 19, 2022

Add to that, having failed to sign Alvarez, Chelsea completed the deadline day loan signing of Denis Zakaria from Juventus.

The Blues paid a fee of €3m for the initial loan period, plus an additional €1m in add-ons.

But Zakaria has failed to make an impression at Stamford Bridge, under Thomas Tuchel or Graham Potter, and his loan could be terminated in January, meaning a replacement in necessary.