River Plate’s Julian Alvarez has turned heads across the Atlantic with his sensational domestic performances. Manchester City have leapfrogged the competition and are currently in talks to the 21-year-old, as per The Athletic.
The striker played a key role for the Argentine Primera side in their domestic title win last season, scoring 20 goals in 35 appearances. His fine form attracted attention from across the Atlantic, with clubs ranging from Bayern Munich to Manchester United and Real Madrid being linked.
As per the report, City are the most advanced of the clubs linked to Alvarez. The Citizens are being asked to fork out a fee in the region of 21 million pounds while allowing Alvarez to remain with his boyhood club until the summer.
It is being expected the club will agree to both conditions and sign the player before the end of the current transfer window – before bringing him over to England six months later.
The soon-to-be Manchester City forward has already had a short stint in Europe with Real Madrid, whom he represented on a trial basis while still in his early teens. Los Blancos were impressed, too, and attempted to sign him for their academy, only to be denied by rules restricting the registration of foreign players under the age of 13.
Nonetheless, the Spanish giants continued monitoring the forward’s progress as he made his way upwards to the River Plate first team – and were linked with a move again in recent months.
Also read 👉 Real join race for River Plate’s Alvarez after failing to land him in 2011
Alvarez’s signing could signal the end of Manchester City’s high-profile pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane. The Premier League champions’ attempts to prise the prolific forward away from North London in the summer hit several snags, and the move broke down ultimately.
Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland was also linked with the Citizens as they tried to replace Sergio Aguero, but a move for him was always likely to materialize a year later when his reported release clause kicks in.
