Julian Alvarez is heading towards the Manchester City exit door and his departure will leave Pep Guardiola with a tricky dilemma to solve before the window closes.
It’s been a sleepy transfer window so far for Manchester City, with the arrival of Savinho the only signing and Sergio Gomez’s exit being the sole first-team departure, though it’s not as if he played much.
But like a yawning dragon, the window might just be about to wake from its slumber and burst into life.
It was widely reported on Tuesday that Atletico Madrid have agreed a £82m deal with City for the transfer of Julian Alvarez.
The Argentine has had a busy summer. Not only did he help his country retain the Copa America trophy but he represented them at the Olympics, too. All the while, his future has been in question.
Alvarez has been linked with a big transfer all summer, with a lack of a guaranteed starting place often cited as the reason. Both Chelsea and PSG were heavily touted but Atletico appear to have won the race.
Such a humungous fee means it’s a remarkable profit on the mere £14m City paid to River Plate two years ago and City never keep wantaway players if they get an appropriate bid for them.
But losing Alvarez does give City and Pep Guardiola a massive decision to make.
- Who is Julian Alvarez? The story of the striker who won it all at Man City before joining Atletico Madrid
The biggest thing City will miss without Alvarez
During his two years at City, Alvarez was never the absolute best at any one thing.
He was never as prolific as Erling Haaland, as skilful as Phil Foden or as creative as Kevin De Bruyne. But he was more than good enough to step into all of their roles when called upon.
Like a Swiss army knife when you’re lost in the wilderness, Alvarez was a tool Guardiola returned to when he had different problems to solve.
When De Bruyne was injured for the first half of last season, it was Alvarez who took his place in the attacking midfield role and ensured the brilliant Belgian wasn’t missed.
When Haaland missed 12 games in succession, his longest spell on the sidelines since joining City, it was Alvarez who stepped up to lead the line.
A player who is not only versatile, able to do a job, but actually fantastic in multiple different roles is difficult to come by. Making them even harder to replace.
Supporters might not worry too much about losing Alvarez, a player who was never a first name on the teamsheet, but he will be missed when injuries start mounting up halfway through a gruelling campaign.
Which leaves the question, how do City replace him?
Man City have big decision to make when finding Alvarez replacement
If City can’t find a player that can fulfil both roles to the same high level, then suddenly they might have to look for two players to replace Alvarez rather than just one.
That leaves the club with the dilemma of which position should be given the most attention and higher budget allocation in the remaining days of the transfer window.
To add to that, fans are still crying out for another defensively-minded midfielder to be signed to lighten the load on Rodri’s shoulders.
But with Guardiola saying City would only be adding players to replace ones who have departed – and even that was a ‘maybe’ – it might just be one signing who comes in.
If that is the case, then it’s crucial a striker is signed because, at present, if Haaland gets injured again then there isn’t a natural replacement for him.
Savinho might be an interesting option to try given his speed but it’s risky, while Foden has had some success as a false 9 before. But, regardless, a quality backup for Haaland is required.
Especially given City are so well-stocked in attacking midfield. De Bruyne is staying, Foden is ready to finally play the role more often, Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic can play there if needed and youngsters Oscar Bobb, James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly are all pushing for more game time.
On top of all that, Claudio Echeverri arrives in the new year and will be looking to have a similar sort of impact as Alvarez.
City’s record sale might be too good to turn down but it leaves the club with some important decisions to make.
