West Ham: Irons could sign extraordinary £35m star to elevate Alvarez

Could the Declan Rice money have been spent any better?

At the beginning of the transfer window, West Ham United’s task of replacing Declan Rice looked impossible.

How would any player replicate his consistency, reliability, loyalty, and relationship with the fans?

But, the Hammers’ hierarchy have done a superb job of ushering in the new era of the club’s midfield.

Mohammed Kudus has been added to the offensive segment, James Ward-Prowse will adopt a box-to-box role, whilst Edson Alvarez will be tasked with the more conventional Rice duties, sitting rigidly in front of the defence.

However, the 2023 Europa Conference League winners are still looking to bolster his area…

What’s the latest West Ham transfer news?

Football Inside reported late last week that West Ham had joined Nottingham Forest in the race to sign PSV Eindhoven’s Ibrahim Sangare, who has a £32m release clause in his contract.

Forest had been the leading contender for the midfielder’s signature, but they chose to not activate the release clause and instead offered to take the player on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy set at £21.3m.

This has offered West Ham a chance to make a late move for Sangare, with PSV having reportedly lined up a replacement for him should he leave in this window.

However, the 25-year-old’s future is also dependent upon Champions League qualification, which will be settled on 30 August following the pulsating 2-2 draw with Rangers in the first leg at Ibrox.

What are Ibrahim Sangare’s strengths?

The Ivorian has been at PSV since 2020 and has made 139 appearances in all competitions, scoring 15 and assisting ten.

Sangare’s strength will be of particular interest to David Moyes due to his accomplished profile. Last term in the Eredivisie, the 6 foot 3 titan netted five times, averaged 1.3 shots per game, 2.3 tackles per game, completed 77% of his dribbles, and won 63% of his aerials duels, as per Sofascore.

To place these numbers in a wider perspective, and to underline his well-rounded style, Sangare ranks within the highest 14% outside of Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for non-penalty xG per 90, progressive passes per 90, successful take-ons per 90, clearances per 90, and aerials won per 90.

The 31-cap international seems to embody Ward-Prowse’s offensive threat and Alvarez’s defensive solidity. A possible West Ham line up could see the Englishman deployed as an advanced eight, with Sangare operating in a similar role and Alvarez sitting as a lone pivot.

Ranked among his positional peers outside of Europe’s top five leagues, the Mexican sits within the highest 8% for interceptions per 90, clearances per 90, and aerials won per 90.

In last weekend’s hard-fought victory over Brighton, Alvarez played for 84 minutes, winning four duels, and registering seven clearances and two tackles.

However, he only managed 53% pass completion indicating that if he was paired with a more technical influence that could also dig into the defensive effort, such as Sangare, then West Ham’s midfield could perform at even more impressive levels.

Described as “extraordinary” by former PSV and Ajax manager Aad de Mos, Sangare would be an excellent transfer for the Irons, as he could well take his potential new colleague to the next level.