Heading into the international break, West Ham sit 12th in the Premier League, having accrued eight points from their opening seven games, winning twice, drawing twice, and losing three times.
Julen Lopetegui wants to make the Hammers a more ball-dominant side, but so far, his side have averaged just 45.4% possession in the league, the sixth worst in the division, with an 83.0% passing accuracy (11th out of 20).
Many of West Ham’s issues stem in midfield, with a lack of mobility, a lack of progressive passers in deep areas, and an overall mindset that still seems better suited to Moyes’ style of football than Lopetegui’s
West Ham's midfield woes in 2024/25
West Ham has set up with a double pivot and often one number ten this season. Most commonly, that has been Guido Rodriguez, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta, who have started as a midfield trio on four occasions in the Premier League already in their seven games played.
The other midfielder in question is the original Declan Rice replacement, Edson Alvarez, who was signed from Ajax in 2023 for around £35.4m, as the Hammers looked to rebuild their midfield with the loss of Rice.
Alvarez made 42 appearances for the club last season, scoring two goals, providing two assists, and contributing to nine clean sheets in his 3,155 minutes played.
Yet, in the new term, the Mexican has underperformed, notably being sent off in the League Cup defeat to Liverpool last month.
Things could have been very different, as there was another name on David Moyes’ list to replace Rice, a player who has just earned a big move to Bayern Munich this summer and has been going from strength to strength.
Who West Ham wanted to replace Rice
Before the Hammers signed Alvarez, West Ham were quoted a £60m fee for ex-Fulham midfielder, Joao Palhinha, according to GOAL, as they were searching for their Rice heir.
Due to such a high fee, West Ham began to look elsewhere, going through some other names before acquiring the Mexico international.
Palhinha has since gone on to secure a big move to Bayern, joining the German giants for a deal worth around £47.4m. The Portugal international has slowly settled into life in Germany, making six appearances in all competitions, playing 154 minutes of football, and contributing to three clean sheets.
But, if we cast our minds back to one of his best seasons yet, 2022/23, how does he compare to the aforementioned names?
Progressive Carries
0.23
2.16
2.59
Progressive Passes
2.93
6.86
6.62
Passes Attempted
36.9
80.3
58.8
Pass Completion %
82.5%
88.4%
87.1%
Passes into Final Third
3.42
7.10
6.60
Tackles
4.29
2.49
2.22
Blocks
1.39
1.26
1.20
Interceptions
1.53
1.31
1.63
Aerials Won
2.06
3.36
0.95
Palhinha, described as a “destroyer” by Statman Dave, clearly shows his defensive qualities in these metrics, making a crazy 4.29 tackles per 90 during the 2022/23 season for Fulham, nearly double both Alvarez and Rice. He also made more blocks, and only 0.10 fewer interceptions than Rice, which shows the type of midfielder Palhinha is.
A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.
Alvarez, however, did produce better passing metrics, making the most passes into the final third, the most progressive passes, and having the best pass completion. This could have been part of the decision to go for the Mexican, as he could provide those on-ball qualities closer to what Rice offered to the side.
This season, West Ham have already conceded 11 goals, eight of these coming from “open play”, and a midfield option like the Portuguese could have offered the Hammers much more protection in front of their backline, thus minimising chances for the opposition, and perhaps even reducing their chances conceded.
It’s safe to say we can file this as one that got away for the Irons.
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