As Julian Alvarez seems to be inching closer towards a transfer to Atletico Madrid, it will be difficult for Manchester City to replace as multifaceted a player as him.
It has been claimed by journalist David Ornstein that Alvarez has agreed personal terms with Diego Simeone’s side — which was regarded as the final step to finalise his move to the Spanish capital.
Overall, the World Cup winner’s move to Manchester City can be regarded as a success.
When the 24-year-old was signed for £14 million from River Plate in 2022, it could have been possible that he struggled to adapt to Premier League football and life in England — having only played in Argentina previously.
But that has not been the case, with Alvarez quickly cementing his status as one of the most well-rounded strikers in the Premier League.
During his time at the Etihad Stadium, the Argentine has thrived as both a striker and a number 10 — despite competing with Erling Haaland for a starting berth and replacing the injured Kevin De Bruyne.
Yet, Alvarez has not let the pressure get to him and perform on the pitch for the most part.
But now as the Calchin-born number nine looks set to play his football in La Liga, several revelations have emerged about Manchester City’s plans to replace him.
- Who is Julian Alvarez? The story of the striker who won it all at Man City before joining Atletico Madrid
Romano reveals whether Man City would rather sign a striker or a winger to replace Alvarez
On Tuesday, City’s plans to replace Alvarez were reported to include either bringing in a senior international or potentially giving James McAtee more of a chance in the first-team next season.
Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Manchester City wish to extend McAtee’s contract beyond 2026 — with Pep Guardiola believed to be “very happy” with him.
During the latest episode of The Here We Go Podcast, Romano revealed that in their search for a player to replace the outgoing Alvarez, the Premier League winners would rather sign a winger than a striker.
The Italian journalist said: “There are internal talks going. I expect Manchester City to do something on the market, so they are considering options to replace Julian Alvarez.”
“Man City will obviously explore the strikers market because obviously, with Julian Alvarez leaving, there is a possibility to bring in a new striker but what I’m hearing in the last 24 hours is there is a concrete possibility also for Man City to bring in a winger rather than a striker.”
Romano added: “Usually, they know that Pep Guardiola is very good at finding solutions so in that case, where [Erling] Haaland is not available or they want to rotate, they can go with a false number nine.”
“So, that could be a possibility also to bring in a winger, let’s see what they decide to do but they are prepared to attack the market in the final three weeks.”
Man City could want more end product from wide areas after Julian Alvarez exit
Based on Fabrizio Romano’s revelation, the thinking at Manchester City could be to replace a player like Alvarez, who could provide goals and assists at will with a winger who could increase the side’s end product from wide areas.
With Erling Haaland guaranteeing an incredible number of goal contributions up front, perhaps Manchester City feel it is out wide where they require a boost in terms of end product.
During his time at City, Jack Grealish’s highest number of goal contributions in the Premier League are 12 (five goals and seven assists) while Jeremy Doku’s was the same in his debut campaign (three goals and nine assists).
Savinho produced 19 goal involvements (nine goals and 10 assists) for Girona last season but only time will tell how he fares in his first season as a City player in England.
Potentially, the Sky Blues’ reported plans to replace Alvarez could be dictated by the aforementioned rationale.
