West Ham midfielder Edson Alvarez was recalled to the starting lineup for the 2-1 victory over Manchester United.

The Mexican international had been benched for the previous two fixtures against Ipswich Town and Tottenham, having also missed the draw versus Brentford due to suspension.

After impressing in the second half at the London Stadium on Sunday, though, the majority of supporters on X feel head coach Julen Lopetegui should keep Alvarez in the team:

Needs to start every game
He’s excellent

— #1 Jets fan (@CBaffige021501) October 28, 2024

He was a monster

— Steve⚒️ (@SteveWHU9) October 28, 2024

Shoutout to Edson Alvarez. Thought he was class on Sunday.

— West Ham Transfers (@westhamtransfer) October 28, 2024

By the way, Edson Alvarez was mustard yesterday

— Nick Marsh (@MarshyBoy26) October 28, 2024

Much better second half when big Tom came in and he sat in front of defence..

— ronan fagan (@rinanfafan) October 28, 2024

Alvarez played a key role against Man United

Like the rest of his teammates, the 27-year-old struggled in the first half at the weekend. The Red Devils continually managed to bypass the midfield and Alvarez was not able to close down the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen.

However, after Lopetegui made several changes at the interval that addressed the balance in the middle of the park, Alvarez thrived and he had a big impact on securing the three points.

Who should partner the West Ham midfielder?

It’s fair to say that neither Guido Rodriguez nor Lucas Paqueta have really been effective when asked to play in central midfield so the likeliest candidate to play alongside Alvarez against Nottingham Forest is Tomas Soucek.

The pair did dovetail pretty nicely in the second half against United and it will be hoped they can carry on from where they left off when the Hammers travel to the City Ground this Saturday.

Find out who is in West Ham’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here