West Ham midfielder Edson Alvarez says he was close to signing for Chelsea.
The Mexico international, who joined West Ham from Ajax last summer on a £35m contract, says he even had a plane waiting to take him to sign the contract, for his former club to make a last-minute U-turn.
In an interview with Caliente TV, the 26-year-old, who replaced Declan Rice in West Ham’s midfield, said: “In the third year [at Ajax] I had to move to Chelsea, the plane was waiting for me at the airport – and then Ajax said to me: ‘You know what?You’re not going to pass. ‘”
“Whether others like it or not, I don’t care, I’m the one who is here and who lives it. I was an hour away from getting on the plane and going to signal Chelsea.
“Ajax told me: ‘You’re not leaving’. So, you don’t leave, what do you do?You don’t leave, it’s not possible. “
Alvarez has inspired West Ham’s midfield, making 35 appearances for David Moyes’ men so far.
Despite Alvarez’s failure, Chelsea have invested in revamping their midfield over the past 18 months.
Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo are all paid more than £100 million, while they also spent heavily on Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukukwu, Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei.
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