Three Missing Hammers and a Kidnapping Plot

 Well, that escalated quickly.

Yesterday I asked where three of our players had disappeared to. Today we have an injured goalkeeper, an international legal drama and one midfielder still apparently lost somewhere in the Stratford ether.

So, basically, a normal week at West Ham.

Let's start with Alphonse Areola, because for once we have an explanation that doesn't require a flowchart.

Nuno Espírito Santo confirmed that Areola picked up a dead leg during training and is being assessed by the medical team on a daily basis. Nothing particularly exciting there. He's hurt his leg. It happens.

Edson Álvarez, unfortunately, has chosen to make things considerably more complicated.

The Mexican midfielder has broken his silence over sensational allegations circulating in his homeland, categorically denying claims that he, his partner and his former father-in-law were linked to an alleged kidnapping plot arising from a financial dispute over an unpaid documentary bill.

Yes. You read that correctly.

A kidnapping plot.

I was expecting yesterday's "Where have our three missing players gone?" post to be a mildly amusing bit of post-transfer-window nonsense. I wasn't expecting it to develop into an international legal drama before breakfast.

Álvarez says the allegations are completely false, points out that no evidence has been presented and has instructed his legal team to consider formal action against those spreading the claims.

Quite how we got from "Why isn't Edson Álvarez in the squad?" to "Mexican midfielder denies involvement in an alleged kidnapping plot" is one of those questions that probably doesn't need answering.

And then there's Soungoutou Magassa.

Still no sign of him.

I'm beginning to think asking where he is might be tempting fate.

So there we have it. Three missing players, three very different explanations.

One has a dead leg.

One has apparently found himself starring in a Mexican crime thriller he insists he had nothing to do with.

And one remains mysteriously absent.

Welcome to West Ham.

You couldn't make it up. Although, frankly, I'm starting to think somebody is.