- Atletico Madrid are close to securing the signing of Julian Alvarez
- Manchester City forward Alvarez could sign for Atletico in an £85m switch
Atletico Madrid are close to finalising a deal for Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez.
As reported by The Athletic, total agreement over a transfer is yet to be reached but a deal is close to being struck, with negotiations focusing on the final price and payment structure.
City value Alvarez at £75million plus a further £10m in performance-based bonuses.
Alvarez, who joined City from River Plate in 2022, has expressed his frustration at not featuring more prominently in high profile matches for Pep Guardiola‘s side.
He said: ‘Last season, I was one of the players with the most minutes at City. But… in the end, you don’t like being left out of important matches; you want to contribute.
Atletico Madrid are close to finalising a deal for Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez
Atletico boss Diego Simeone could soon be able to add Alvarez to his attacking options
Pep Guardiola issued a blunt response when asked about Alvarez’s future at Man City
‘I’ll take my time to think about what I want for myself. We will see after the Games. First, if I can, I will take a few days off. Then we will decide.’
Guardiola issued a blunt response when asked about Alvarez’s future.
He said: ‘I don’t think about replacing. I knew he said he will think about it.
‘Once he has finished thinking, his agent will call Txiki [Begiristain] and we will see what happens.
‘I know he wants to play important moments, yeah. But the other ones [do] too. 18, 19 players as well want to play the big games.
‘I read he wants to think about it. Okay, think about it and after that he will inform us what he wants to do.’
Alvarez has had an eventful summer – he was part of Argentina’s Copa America-winning squad and subsequently featured for his nation at the Olympics, where they were beaten by Argentina in the quarter-finals.
During his time at City Alvarez has made 103 appearances and has scored 36 goals, while he has provided 18 assists.
If Alvarez arrives then Diego Simeone’s side will be more open to selling Samu Omorodion, who is the subject of interest from Chelsea.
