Guardian Sport NetworkWest Ham UnitedMexico international dictates the tempo for David Moyes’s side, adds crucial defensive resolve and has proved a fine acquisition
By Ben McAleer for WhoScored
When teams make a big sale, they often reinvest that money poorly. That cannot be said of West Ham. The Hammers cashed in on Declan Rice over the summer as the England international made the move across the capital to Arsenal. West Ham may have been tempted to spend that on one player to ease Rice’s exit but, instead, they spent well strengthening all areas.
Granted they waited until late on in the window to make a splash in the market but they did so impressively. James Ward-Prowse and Edson Álvarez have forged a solid midfield partnership in David Moyes’s favoured 4-2-3-1 setup, while Mohammed Kudus has proven an inspired addition to the side. The Ghana international had to wait for his chance to nail down a first team spot but as Sunday’s performance against Wolves showed, he’s grabbed that with both hands.
Injury to Michail Antonio proved to be a blessing in disguise for both Kudus and West Ham. For some time Moyes has sought to bring in another striker to ease the burden on the experienced Antonio, with Sébastien Haller and Gianluca Scamacca among those to move to east London in years gone by only to fail to fit the Scot’s gameplan. As chance would have it, Jarrod Bowen has proved to be the perfect fit on the Hammers’ frontline and – flanked by Kudus and Lucas Paquetá – it’s an attack that is as effective as any in the Premier League.
This is because the trio are able to break forward at speed to put opponents to the sword. It took just 17.5 seconds from Wolves taking a corner to the ball hitting the back of the net for Kudus’s first goal on Sunday as West Ham ruthlessly carved Gary O’Neil’s side apart on the counterattack. The attacking trident now has the perfect foundation to hurt teams and much of that is down to the addition of Álvarez.
With West Ham’s front three coming in for some well-deserved praise, Álvarez’s impact in the middle of the park cannot be overstated. The Mexican was, to some, the ideal successor for Rice in east London, bringing some crucial defensive resolve to the side that meant those in attack can expend their energy putting the ball in the back of the net rather than concerning themselves with out-of-possession responsibilities.
That’s not to say others in this West Ham side don’t pull their weight – Álvarez ranks fourth for tackles (28) of all Hammers players in the Premier League this season – but that the Mexico international is so often in the right place at the right time to alleviate pressure on the West Ham goal. He has notably adjusted his style of playto suit a gameplan that is the polar opposite of his former employer.
Ajax would routinely dominate sides during Álvarez’s final year in the Netherlands, so much so that his average of 77.3 passes per game was the second most in the 2022-23 Eredivisie season. The Dutch side also ranked top for possession (66.7%), meaning Álvarez often dictated the tempo from the base of the midfield. Now, he’s had to tailor his game to shine for a side that sees far less of the ball. West Ham’s possession average of 41.7% is the fifth lowest in England’s top tier. Whereas Ajax seek to control proceedings, West Ham aim to sit back at hit opponents on the counter.
Álvarez has made the transition look easy. There are still aspects to his game that need refining, notably in the number of times he has been booked already this season – no player has more than his seven in the Premier League this season – but the pros overwhelmingly outweigh the cons. In a short space of time, the 26-year-old is now one of the first names on the team sheet such is his importance to Moyes’s side.
This was magnified further by West Ham’s performance in Álvarez’s absence recently. The club were on the receiving end of a 5-0 hammering at Fulham earlier this month, a game that coincided with Álvarez’s brief stint on the sidelines due to illness. He returned to the XI for the Europa League win over Freiburg, a game in which he provided the assist for Kudus’s opener and followed that up with a goal of his own. However, the Hammers again struggled once he was withdrawn in 54th minute as the Bundesliga side were able to find greater joy in the final third. They may not have scored in an eventual 2-0 loss at the London Stadium, but seven of the 12 shots they mustered came in the final 35 minutes without Álvarez on the pitch.
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This does raise another problem in that West Ham evidently have a lack of cover for Álvarez when he is unavailable and this further serves to amplify his influence in this Hammers side. However, his impact, coupled with that of Ward-Prowse, Kudus and, to a lesser extent, Konstantinos Mavropanos highlights just how well the Hammers invested in the squad. Of the quartet, Álvarez is the one who has played perhaps the biggest role in helping take the east London side to the next level.
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