Micah Richards has said that he has been surprised by the level of quality Julian Alvarez has shown for Manchester City recently.
The 23-year-old scored two goals in his latest game for the Citizens in their 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
With the striker now in with a chance of adding to his goals tally for the season in this afternoon’s Premier League match against Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium, one pundit and former City player has admitted he had initial doubts about the player.
Richards makes Alvarez U-turn
Speaking in a recent edition of The Rest is Football, Richards had this to say about Alvarez.
He said: “I’ll actually admit with Alvarez, I didn’t think he was at the level, I know he won the World Cup, of like a Haaland, a superstar.
“Alvarez, I didn’t think he was superstar level, but now he’s surprised me. Not just because he can score goals, he can create as well.”
Last season saw the Argentina international score 17 goals and deliver five goals in 49 appearances across all competitions in his debut campaign for City.
So far this season, Alvarez has found the net four times and supplied four assists, which shows how effective he has been in front of goal.
In fact, the striker has made more key passes (16) and more goal-creating actions (5) than any other player in City’s squad in the Premier League across their five games, which backs up Richards’ point about Alvarez being just as efficient when it comes to creating goals as well as scoring them.
While Richards may not have seen the 23-year-old as a potential superstar, he is very much proving himself to be a vital player for Guardiola and City this season and someone that could have a big say in potentially seeing them regain their titles from last season if he can continue to score goals and provide assists on a regular basis throughout the rest of the campaign.
