Pep Guardiola has already hinted at what Manchester City will do in response to losing Julian Alvarez.
It’s not been the most exciting summer transfer window for Manchester City fans so far, with Savinho the only new addition to the Premier League-winning squad.
It’s a departure from the last two years in which City have recruited at least four new players and given supporters lots to be excited about ahead of a new campaign.
But now, instead of adding, the Blues are set to lose a key member of the squad with Julian Alvarez heading for the exit door.
It has been widely reported that Atletico Madrid have agreed a £82m deal with City for the the Argentine, with the transfer expected to be completed fairly soon.
It’s a massive profit for City, who signed Alvarez for just £14m two years ago, but it does leave a significant hole in their squad.
With the exit, Erling Haaland is the only senior striker at Pep Guardiola’s disposal and it would be very risky to go into a gruelling campaign with no backup in the event he gets injured.
However, Guardiola has already revealed City are likely to make moves in the market to replenish their numbers.
- Who is Julian Alvarez? The story of the striker who won it all at Man City before joining Atletico Madrid
What Guardiola has said about more City transfers
Speaking after his side’s 3-2 defeat to AC Milan on the pre-season tour of the USA, Guardiola was asked if City would be making any more signings after the arrival of Savinho.
His initial answer might have been concerning to fans, as he said: “Right now, no.”
However, he would go on to give some hope, by adding: “If someone leaves at the end, maybe. But if no one leaves, I think we’ll stay as we are”.
If Guardiola’s words are anything to go by, with Alvarez set to head to the Spanish capital, City could well dip into the market to spend some of their massive earnings and bring in a replacement.
How should City replace Julian Alvarez?
The only question left is, how do City actually go about replacing a player as versatile and good as Alvarez?
While the 24-year-old might not be in many people’s first-choice City line ups, his contributions over the last two years can not be discounted.
He provided 36 goals and 18 assists in 103 games but, even more importantly, was always on hand to replace City’s ‘better’ stars when they were injured.
When Kevin De Bruyne missed out on the first half of last season with injury, it was Alvarez who slipped in and ensured the brilliant Belgian wasn’t missed. When Haaland missed 12 games, Alvarez was there to pick up the slack.
Not many players can fill in two such different positions to such a high quality, making Alvarez so difficult to replace.
Instead of going like-for-like, City may be better served looking to recruit a natural striker to serve as Haaland’s backup instead.
Given Guardiola already has Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb, James McAtee, Nico O’Reilly and others who can play centrally, it’s much more important to get another player capable of leading the line.
