Julian Alvarez: Everything you need to know about the upcoming striker from River Plate for Manchester City

Julian Alvarez: Everything you need to know about the upcoming striker from River Plate for Manchester City

Much of Manchester City’s transfer chatter this summer will revolve around how Erling Haaland adjusts to life at the Etihad Stadium, but don’t forget that the club has another young forward on the way.

Julian Alvarez, a forward for River Plate, is expected to join Manchester United this summer after completing a £14 million transfer from the Argentine club on January’s Transfer Deadline Day.

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The 22-year-old is highly regarded and drew attention this week after scoring six goals in River’s 8-1 win over Allianz Lima on Wednesday night. Imagine if he and Haaland both had purple patches this season for City…

Alvarez is expected to join City for pre-season training later this summer, so what can City fans expect from their new young striker?

Alvarez will arrive at Man City in incredible form

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If there were any concerns in Man City fans’ minds about Alvarez before this week’s amazing six-goal performance against Allianz Lima in the Copa Libertadores, they were dispelled.

Alvarez scored all three River Plate goals in the first 45 minutes, then added goals in the 54th, 57th, and 83rd minutes against their Peruvian opponents.

To go along with the 18 goals he scored in the Argentinian first flight in 2021, the 22-year-old has 14 goals in 17 appearances in cup games this season.

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If he can break into the team alongside fellow newcomer Haaland, the striker will become the first player in the club’s 121-year history to score six goals in the same game – and he’ll be looking to break some Manchester City records as well.

Real Madrid and Man United are long-term fans of him

Alvarez has only just emerged as a Manchester City target, but the forward has long been on the radar of Europe’s top clubs.

When he was only 11 years old, he spent a month on trial at Real Madrid’s youth program.

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Due to age restrictions on foreign signings in Spain, a move did not materialize as a result of that trial, but he was picked up by Argentinian giants River Plate, the team he supported as a child, within a few years.

Former Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick was also interested in bringing him to Old Trafford in the January transfer window, but the club’s board decided against it.

City have already received loan bids for Alvarez, who is still in terrific form for River, but the intention is to keep him at the Etihad Stadium next season.

City sporting director Ferran Soriano said this month: “We have had many offers from clubs to loan Julian Alvarez – but he is not going to leave.

“He will do the pre-season with us and I think he will stay. Barcelona were not among those who were interested.”

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He’s already worked with Messi

Alvarez made an impression as a young player for River Plate and Argentina, and in the summer of 2018, he was part of a group of young players who traveled to Russia with Argentina’s senior squad to participate in training sessions.

The experience of rubbing shoulders with Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, and the others benefited Alvarez, and when he returned to River Plate, long-serving manager Marcelo Gallardo moved him to the first-team roster.

Alvarez was given the No 9 shirt and handed his debut in October 2018. “He is a player who every manager would like to coach,” said Gallardo at the time, going on to describe the youngster as a “team player” with an attitude to match his precocious talent.

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Alvarez quickly established himself as a regular for River, and in December of that year, seven years after his trial with Real Madrid, he was offered the chance to play in the rearranged Copa Libertadores final versus Boca Juniors at the Bernabeu.

With the scores tied in the first half of extra time, Gallardo threw in the attacker, who was still only 18, in a huge show of faith that paid off as River went on to overcome their bitter rivals 3-1 and lift the trophy.

Alvarez is being compared to Aguero

Alvarez has long idolised Aguero – “I like Kun Aguero a lot and I try to copy his movements,” he said in an interview with La Nacion in 2019 – and a move to the Etihad Stadium would give him the opportunity to follow in his former international team-mate’s footsteps.

Of course, it would be a tall order to match his exploits, but the similarities to the City legend aren’t wholly unfounded.

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Alvarez, like Aguero, stands 5ft 8ins tall and is deceptively strong, with his stocky physique and low center of gravity making him difficult to push off the ball.

Aguero is sometimes labeled a goal scorer, but he scored a wide range of goals for City, and an analysis of Alvarez’s Primera Division goals for River last season reveals a similar diversity.

Alvarez scored the majority of his goals from inside the box, including four from inside the six-yard box, demonstrating his goal-scoring prowess, but he also scored five goals from outside the box.

No other player in the division had more than three, demonstrating his menace from afar as well as close quarters.

Alvarez’s right foot is a hammer, delivering great power with minimal back-lift, but he is far from one-footed. In fact, he’s just as good on his left foot, scoring five of his 18 goals with it last season.

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With his head, he even scored a goal. Alvarez may be diminutive in appearance, but he is just as deadly in the air as Aguero, his aggressive spirit meaning he does not shy away from aerial battles.

His positional adaptability, on the other hand, sets him apart from his idol. Alvarez now plays up front for River, although unlike Aguero, he is not a pure striker. In truth, he was a winger in his early years and is equally effective off the right.

While Aguero excelled in and around the penalty area, Alvarez prefers to play in the gaps between the lines, where he can pick up ball on the turn and use his speed and skill to beat opponents from deeper areas.

It remains to be seen whether he will even come close to matching the extraordinary standards set by his idol, should a move to City go ahead. Reports suggest he would initially stay at River on loan before moving to England later this year. But Alvarez’s star potential is already clear.

What have the experts said about Alvarez?

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola speaking in February:

“Manchester City works to be in the present but also in the future and the immediate future. He could be with us right now but we have so many players in that position so the best for him is to stay in River Plate.

“He has developed incredibly well in the last few years with Marcelo Gallardo and in the next pre-season he will be with us. Then we will decide what happens because in every pre-season, the squads move. But we are really pleased to have this talented young player for the next years.”

South American football expert Tim Vickery to Sky Sports News in January:

“He is the best thing to come out of Argentine football in a while – he’s a really talented support striker. He’s been brought along really carefully by the River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo.

“He reminds me of [former Aston Villa striker] Gary Shaw, a great player in the early 1980s until he struggled with a serious injury. He was almost like an English Kenny Dalglish. Alvarez has some of those similar attributes, he’s wonderful at taking the ball on the half turn, playing the pass and moving into position.

“You can play his right up top but moving to Europe he will find physically it to adapt at first. But there’s real ability there and his movement is quick but his mind is quicker. He’s a really special player.”