Ajax reportedly reaches agreement with West Ham United to transfer Edson Álvarez

Edson Álvarez is set to transfer from Ajax to London-based football club West Ham United. Sources close to the 25-year-old Mexican football player confirmed that the two clubs have reached a verbal agreement on a transfer fee of nearly 40 million euros. Álvarez has been playing for Ajax since 2019.

Last season, Chelsea tried to bring the Mexican to the English Premier League, but Ajax declined the transfer. However, Álvarez was assured by the club management that they would be open to a transfer this summer if a reasonable offer was presented.

EXCLUSIVE: Édson Álvarez to West Ham, here we go! Verbal agreement with Ajax for total package around £34/35m fee 🚨⚒️🇲🇽 #WHUFC

Álvarez will fly to London in the next 24 hours in order to undergo medical tests and sign contracts.

Personal terms agreed as revealed on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/rWHO81cKQN

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 7, 2023

"Álvarez will fly to London in the next 24 hours in order to undergo medical tests and sign contracts," the Italian sports journalist Fabrizio Romano wrote on Monday in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

According to Voetbal International, Ajax has included a sell-on clause in the deal with Álvarez. This ensures that if Álvarez is transferred again in the future, Ajax will get a portion of the transfer fee.

The Mexican midfielder, who occasionally played center-back for Ajax, had a contract in Amsterdam that extended to the summer of 2025. During his time in Amsterdam, he played 147 games, scoring 12 goals and providing six assists. He won two Eredivisie titles and the KNVB Cup in 2021.

A few weeks ago, he also won the Gold Cup with the Mexican national team.

West Ham United, which won the Conference League last season, will participate in the Europa League group stage this season.

The new Ajax coach, Maurice Steijn, wanted to keep Álvarez, but he is once again seeing a key player leaving the Amsterdam club. Previously, defenders Jurriën Timber (to Arsenal) and Calvin Bassey (to Fulham) transferred to Premier League clubs. Captain Dusan Tadic also moved from Ajax to Turkish club Fenerbahçe.

Anticipating the transfer of the Mexican player, Ajax football director Sven Mislintat had already planned for Álvarez's departure. Benjamin Tahirović, a recent transfer from AS Roma, is now Maurice Steijn's option to fill the defensive midfielder role that Álvarez used to play..

After a complicated pre-season, Ajax will start the Eredivisie season on Saturday with a home game against the newly-promoted Heracles Almelo.