When West Ham United finally sell Declan Rice, the London club are going to have to find a replacement for the England international.
A number of names have been touted for the role, and while Edson Alvarez was among them, he looked destined for a transfer to Borussia Dortmund.
However, everything changed on Thursday afternoon when it was announced the Bundesliga side had pulled out of talks for the Mexican midfielder, which could benefit West Ham, according to Voetbal International.
The Dutch outlet recall that the Hammers have been after the player for ‘some time’, but the fact Dortmund have ‘pulled the plug’ has opened a new door for David Moyes.
This is why Voetbal International explain that the ‘surprising turn’ doesn’t mean the player will be stuck in Amsterdam forever, and with West Ham set to be flush with money very soon, they could convince the Eredivisie side by matching their demands.
This isn’t a guarantee, of course, as Moyes will have a list of players in order of preference to replace Rice, and names such as Mattéo Guendouzi are also said to be on there.
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Double joy for international Hammers
Ben Johnson and Michail Antonio both enjoyed wins in their latest international appearances for England Under 21s and Jamaica respectively.
The 23-year-old defender started for the second successive match as the 21s breezed past reigning champions Germany 2-0 thanks to goals from Cameron Archer – who opened the scoring after just four minutes – and Harvey Elliot, who doubled England’s advantage 17 minutes later.
The win ensures England topped Group C having drawn with the Czech Republic in their opening outing before beating Israel, who finished in runners-up spot in the group after overcoming the Czechs 1-0 in their final group game.
Johnson featured for 59 minutes before being replaced by Norwich’s Max Aarons, who started the Three Lions’ opening fixture against the Czechs ahead of the West Ham defender.
Meanwhile Antonio’s Jamaica enjoyed a thoroughly comprehensive 4-1 thrashing of minnows Trinidad & Tobago in their second fixture in the Concacaf Gold Cup Group A.
Having opened with a respectable draw against group favourites USA, the Jamaicans secured the three points thanks to goals from Demarai Gray (2), Leon Bailey and Dujuan Richards who scored the final goal in added-on time just ten minutes after replacing Bailey.
Andre Rampersad grabbed Trinidad & Tobago’s consolation effort four minutes into the second half.
Antonio, who started the game was himself replaced after 77 minutes by New York Red Bulls forward Cory Burke. Highlights of the game may be seen below.
