According to what West Ham United manager Graham Potter said on Tuesday, midfielder Edson Alvarez should make his preseason debut for the Irons on Sunday.
Alvarez went on a short, but well-deserved holiday after helping lead the Mexican National Team to Gold Cup glory this summer. He trained with West Ham for the first time this preseason on Tuesday in Chicago.
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“He’s in a really good place, as you might imagine,” Potter said in response to a reporter query at the Westin Hotel on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago.
“After the fantastic summer that he’s had with Mexico, then a nice break, which was well-earned, after what he went through and the efforts with his national team- had his first training session today, which was nice to see.”
Asked if he would be available for the match the following night at Soldier Field (in which West Ham beat Everton 2-1) Potter said no.
He then pointed towards Sunday, against AFC Bournemouth in Atlanta, as the opportunity for the Mexico captain to make his first preseason appearance.
“It might be a bit too soon for him tomorrow, as he’s only one had one training session with the team,” Potter continued.
“We might have to look towards Sunday.”
Already a beloved icon among El Tri supporters everywhere, Edson Alvarez further elevated his status 25 days ago when he scored the match winner in the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup final.
Mexico defeated their arch-rivals, the United States, 2-1 which ended a stretch of the series that had been recently dominated by the Stars and Stripes.
Edson Alvarez also won the Golden Ball award (the tournament’s most outstanding player) at the Gold Cup.
The only other Hammers team news item for this one surrounds Lucas Paqueta.
The Brazilian midfielder, who scored the opener in last night’s win on the shores of Lake Michigan, has been cleared of match-fixing charges.
In May of 2024, he was charged with four counts of getting deliberately booked in order to influence betting markets on Premier League games.
However, after a very long investigation, the ruling went in his favor, and he’s been cleared.
This was an extreme alleviation of stress for Paqueta, as he had been facing a potential lifetime ban. He took to social media to express his relief.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter