Is Alexis Gutiérrez good enough for Club América?

Data from Wyscout, FBRef, Golstats and Fotmob, photo from TV Azteca.

A couple of weeks ago I took a look at the situation at Club América, and possible signings for next season. After switching to a 4-3-3 formation, and the departure of attacking-midfielder Diego Valdés, an interior midfielder seemed an important role to look for in the market this summer, to boost options in the squad.

América and André Jardine agreed with me, and Las Águilas have announced the signing of Cruz Azul’s Alexis Gutiérrez. However, Gutiérrez isn’t a player that I had recommended in the article, and his performances with La Máquina don’t suggest that he has enough quality to become an important player for América.

One key method of quantifying his output is by adding together his xG (expected goals) and xA (expected assists). Despite playing in a more attacking-midfield role with Cruz Azul, towards the left in a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3, Gutiérrez hasn’t reached the output of América’s interior midfielders; Álvaro Fidalgo and Érick Sánchez.

The concept analysis below shows that Gutiérrez still produced above-average attacking output in 2024-25, however, he didn’t stand-out that much and this comparison includes all midfielders (more defensive and more attacking). Also, Gutiérrez didn’t have a major influence when building-up attacks, or to press opponents, and he lacks quality when carrying/dribbling.

His role has been more limited and specific than that of Fidalgo or Sánchez, focused in the final third, but his attacking impact is still below the América midfielders.

Percentile ranks in key concepts vs other players in the position | Better ranking | Worse ranking

Also, there isn’t much hope that Gutiérrez could greatly develop his game in upcoming years. Alexis has already played in a strong team, that dominate possession and frequently create chances, so he won’t have many more opportunities to make things happen in the final third with Las Águilas. At 25, Gutiérrez is also in his peak years, which makes any great strides unlikely.

There is a chance that he could develop his box arrivals and goal-scoring abilities with América though. Midfielders arriving from deep to score has been key to Jardine’s attacking ideas in the 4-3-3 system, and Cruz Azul’s crossing focus wouldn’t have suited Gutiérrez, who’s only 173cm tall.

We can further assess Gutiérrez’s output by visualizing where he ranks in the distributions of various key attacking metrics. Again, it shows how Alexis is above average for chance creation and making passes into the box, but he doesn’t reach the best creative midfielders. If reports are correct, $5 million is a large cost for a player with this output.

Part of the cost is the added price for bringing in a Mexican. But there were other potential options on the market like Alán Bautista and Kevin Castañeda. Also, América should have already found more minutes for Miguel Ramírez in recent seasons (1st team or on loan). Ramírez showed signs that he could be an effective interior midfielder during his time in the academy, but due to his lack of experience in professional football, there’s little confidence regarding his true level. At 22, he’ll be late to receive his first loan deal (at Puebla), considering that there wasn’t space for him in the América squad.

Where could Gutiérrez play with América?

There’s another issue here. Jardine and América may see a possibility for Alexis to play as an interior midfielder from either side of the pitch, however, his positioning has almost always been more towards the left with Cruz Azul. This is Álvaro Fidalgo’s zone.

Fidalgo is better than Gutiérrez in every key concept, and the difference between their impacts in build-up play is huge. Fidalgo averages almost 40 more touches per game, and more than double the quantity of progressive passes and carries. Gutiérrez plays sideways or backwards far too often.

Alexis is a major downgrade to sub-on for Fidalgo, and not a switch América would want to make in a tight match. The reported fee is far too big for someone that might not play much, and Fidalgo also hasn’t had many issues with availability, playing more than 1,500 league minutes in his previous seven Liga MX tournaments. Gutiérrez may be used to rotate with Érick Sánchez on the right as well, but we’ve barely seen him in the right-half-space in recent seasons.

Alexis Gutiérrez could end up becoming a useful addition to the América squad in the long-term, especially if the new rules regarding signings from abroad further increase the prices of Mexicans and lower the average quality within the league. However, it was a large investment and it doesn’t seem that Gutiérrez has enough qualities or attacking impact to become an important player for a side with title aspirations. The signing seems like an error from América, but a great sale for Cruz Azul.

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