TRANSFERS
Edson Álvarez’s transfer fell through as he didn’t convince the Borussia Dortmund manager
The Mexican centre-midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund that ultimately collapsed.
Edson Álvarez was extremely close to signing for Borussia Dortmund, but at the final stages of the negotiations, the move fell through, with everyone wondering how Mexico’s undisputed central-midfielder managed not to end up with the Black & Yellow.
Dortmund boss Edin Terzic was behind the collapse of the deal, as he ended up vetoing the transfer on the basis of Ajax’s valuation of the 25-year-old being too high. According to Sport Bild, Terzic was not convinced of the player as the best option for his team, and notified Dortmund’s executives that he saw the deal as unnecessary.
Edson rejected Premier League offers to go to Dortmund...
The same source says Edson rejected various offers from the Premier League, as his priority was making a move to Dortmund, but it was the team who ended up rejected him when the manager, as said, blocked the deal with the club executives.
“Everyone considered Edson too expensive, but Kehl (the club’s sporting director) was totally convinced of him from a sporting point of view. The Álvarez case shows there are always internal problems with transfers”, said the news outlet, reminding that the ex-Club América player was valued at €45 million ($49 million).
The summer is long and Álvarez is available
Álvarez arrived at Ajax in 2019 and little by little won the respect of the fans in The Netherlands. His performances in the Dutch league caused Europe’s top sides to become aware of the player, but as of yet he has not made the leap to the elite club level; last winter, he was close to joining Chelsea and now the story has repeated itself with Dortmund.
However, things are not over for the Mexican who still has a long transfer market ahead of him and could yet be the subject of various bids from other clubs across the continent and beyond. His contract at Ajax runs until 2025 meaning that he will command a fee, but teams are now well aware of the quality he possesses.