Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe applauds fans after the match at Fulham. (Action Images via Reuters)
Newcastle: Edson Alvarez could displace Longstaff
The Ajax “monster” would complete Eddie Howe’s midfield…
Newcastle United’s search for first-rate signings looks to consolidate the return to the Champions League looks to have gone on without a hitch this summer, and the ascent could shoot even higher if Eddie Howe pulls off a deal to sign Edson Alvarez.
Who are Newcastle signing this summer?
Technical director Dan Ashworth has had his work cut out after the Magpies defied expectations and recorded a fourth-place Premier League finish, and Harvey Barnes and Sandro Tonali have been signed for just shy of £100m.
And now, according to The Times – as per West Ham Zone – Newcastle are looking to give competition to Chelsea and West Ham United in the pursuit of Ajax’s Alvarez, who recently saw a transfer to Borussia Dortmund fall through with the German outfit unwilling to pay the €30-40m (£26-35m) asking price.
Howe’s outfit can offer Champions League football where the other English suitors cannot, and could now forge ahead with a deal despite already bolstering the centre with Tonali.
How good is Edson Alvarez?
Newcastle might have to sell to permit the arrival of Alvarez, but it would certainly be a move to fortify the mettle and tenacity of the midfield.
Praised for his “charismatic” swagger by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Alvarez has impressed in the Netherlands over the past several seasons, having made 147 appearances for Ajax, scoring 13 goals and winning two Eredivisie titles and the KNVB Cup.
Hailed as “sensational” for his exploits with Ajax by one journalist, Alvarez is best utilised as a No. 6 but can also hold his own in the central defence, and has demonstrated his acumen through his unflinching defensive skills and assured passing.
As per FBref, the 69-cap Mexico international ranks among the top 5% of midfielders across Men’s Next Eight divisions for pass completion, the top 9% for progressive passes, the top 7% for progressive carries, the top 1% for clearances and the top 1% for aerials won per 90.
Should he arrive at Tyneside this month, the 25-year-old “monster” – as hailed by The Athletic’s Felipe Cardenas – would provide the St. James’s Park holding midfield with a robust defensive component to blend grit with guile, but it would likely have dire consequences for Sean Longstaff.
Few would have envisaged Longstaff to have played a big part in Howe’s system following the lucrative club takeover in 2021, but he played 42 times across all competitions and started 28 times in the top-flight, also praised as his side’s “unsung hero” by former Arsenal forward Paul Merson.
The issue – for Longstaff – with Alarez’s arrival would be that it would shift the irreplaceable Bruno Guimaraes into the centre of the midfield, with the “world-class” – as lauded by Magpies teammate Dan Burn – Brazilian sitting as the team’s deep-lying conductor for much of the 2022/23 campaign, Joelinton, Joe Willock and Longstaff plying their trade just ahead of him.
Guimaraes has been phenomenal since arriving from Lyon in a £40m transfer in January 2022, one of the centrepieces of the club’s resounding resurgence and ranking among the top 13% of midfielders for shot-creating actions, progressive passes and successful take-ons per 90.
Longstaff, industrious he may be, simply doesn’t have the tools Guimaraes holds to his chest, and Alvarez’s signing would almost certainly result in a diminishment of playing time.
That being said, the return to European competition and a desire to challenge for silverware across multiple fronts will leave the Magpies making good, comprehensive use of the squad, and while Howe will still find a use for his homegrown talent, it is unlikely that he will earn a starting berth with regularity if this is indeed the case.
