Italian transfer insider Nicolo Schira is reporting on the news that Edson Alvarez is close to signing for Borussia Dortmund.
Schira says the Ajax midfielder is “one step away” from the German club, who have just sold their star player Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid. The summer transfer carousel is really warming up, and good midfielders are starting to move one after the other. It’s a priority position for Chelsea, who will need to get a move on.
Alvarez emerged as a target for Chelsea late last summer, and the Blues pushed hard for him, only to be denied by the Dutch club, who had just sold Ryan Gravenberch to Bayern Munich. Alvarez even stopped attending training for a while as he attempted to force a move, but eventually Chelsea gave up and the Mexico international returned to the first team.
Edson #Alvarez is one step away to #BVB from #Ajax. Contract until 2028. #transfers https://t.co/zQykaL448l
— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) June 10, 2023
It’s hard for Chelsea fans to know what to make of this news. On the one hand Dortmund usually do superb scouting and rarely sign a dud. The fee isn’t mentioned, but Transfermarkt reckon he’s worth €35m.
On the other hand they are a definitive second tier club – they buy from the third tier and sell to the top tier. It remains to be seen whether Chelsea missed out on this deal, or in fact only missed out on signing a player who is good – maybe great – but not ready to bring us to the top of the game.
We will watch his progress with interest.
