Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at 5:05 PM• Last update: 17:12

Edson Álvarez will officially sign a new contract with Ajax on Wednesday evening, various media report. The previous contract of the 24-year-old Mexican midfielder ran until mid-2024 and will be extended by one year. For Álvarez it is a reward for his development into an undisputed basic player in Erik ten Hag’s team.

Ajax took over Álvarez from Club América in the summer of 2019 for fifteen million euros. The controlling midfielder, who can also function as a center defender, had a difficult start in Amsterdam. He hardly got to play and was far away from his girlfriend Sofia and daughter Valentina in the Netherlands, because their residence permits were not in order. A year ago, Álvarez’s family could finally come over and during that period he also conquered a starting place. He currently stands on 73 official matches for Ajax in all competitions, in which he was accurate 6 times.

Last summer, Stade Rennes wanted to bring in the 24-year-old controlling midfielder. The Ligue 1 club made an opening offer of eighteen million euros and seemed willing to increase that amount to twenty million, bonuses and a percentage of resale. The departure of Álvarez was unmentionable for director of player affairs Marc Overmars. The offer was refused and the Mexican resigned himself to it. “Ajax don’t want me to leave for France,” Álvarez told in August Ajax TV. “But I also want to stay here.”

Álvarez showed last week against The Telegraph already know that a contract extension was in the works. “It is no longer a secret that Ajax and I both really want that. I hope to put my signature as soon as possible, because we are out. The dots just need to be put on the i’s.” Ajax coach Erik Ten Hag indicated in the run-up to the won Champions League match with Borussia Dortmund (4-0) that he was happy with the fifty-time Mexican international. “He brings a lot to the team positionally, takes care of the defensive organization and also plays football better and better. The first assumptions and advancing the game are getting better and better for him. He is making great strides.”