West Ham midfielder Edson Alvarez has said he hasn’t felt any pressure to replace Declan Rice.

The Mexican international was signed from Ajax for £35m in the summer following Rice‘s move to Arsenal and, when asked about filling the shoes of the club’s former captain, Alvarez claimed that he wanted to be his own man:

“Do I feel pressure [to replace Rice]? No not really. In my first time in Ajax, I had to replace Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong, but I never put this pressure on myself.”

“I’m a different player [to Rice]. I bring what I can bring – my spirit, my fight, everything. Believe me, I don’t try to put any of that on my mind, I just want to show the people my quality and my ability.

“I know the responsibility but at the end of the day I’m doing what I want to do and what I want to bring to the Premier League.”

Alvarez was ready to make the step up

You do get the feeling that the midfielder has been chomping at the bit to prove himself on a bigger stage after spending four years in the Eredivisie.

While others may have hidden from the task of trying to replace Rice, Alvarez seems confident enough in his own ability to succeed at the Hammers on his own terms.

He’s settled in quickly at West Ham

Usually, players from other countries need time to adapt to the pace of the Premier League but Alvarez has seemed comfortable from the get-go.

After the win over Freiburg in midweek, manager David Moyes was effusive in his praise of the 25-year-old who he said had “done incredibly well” since arriving at the London Stadium.

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