Atletico Madrid ‘closing in’ on Man City striker

Atletico Madrid are closing in on a deal to sign striker Julian Alvarez from Manchester City in a deal which could be worth more than £64 million, according to reports.

City and Atleti were widely reported on Monday to have held talks over Alvarez, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano saying that the Spanish side hoped to agree a fee on Tuesday.

Romano added that Chelsea are nearing a deal with the 11-time Liga champions to sign 20-year-old forward Samu Omorodion for £35m.

🚨🕷 Atlético Madrid are closing in on Julián Álvarez deal!

◉ Atléti offer more than €75m for Julián to City, working to get it done today.

◉ Chelsea are closing in on Samu Omorodion deal for £35m with Atléti.

◉ Conor Gallagher, set to travel to Madrid today.

Domino ⏳🏁 pic.twitter.com/nH9GzaqRa2

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 6, 2024

Julian Alvarez transfer

Only top scorer Erling Haaland and playmaker Bernardo Silva played more minutes than Alvarez last season among City’s attackers, but the 24-year-old said last week that he “would think about what I want for myself” in terms of his future at the reigning Premier League champions.

Alvarez, who is under contract until 2028, appeared to be frustrated at his exclusion from the starting line-up in “important games” including City’s Uefa Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid, FA Cup final against Manchester United and Premier League run-in.

City manager Pep Guardiola responded by saying that Alvarez had “played a lot” but suggested he should consider a move if he was unhappy with his situation.

Celebrating Julian Alvarez’s 100 City appearances! 🕷️🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/u91Lsq81Te

— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 8, 2024

Julian Alvarez stats

City signed Alvarez for 17 million euros (£14.1m) in January 2022 from Argentine side River Plate, where he remained on loan initially, making his Cityzens debut in July 2022.

He produced 17 goals and five assists in 49 appearances for City in his first campaign. In his second, Alvarez scored 19 times and set up 13 goals.

Alvarez was almost ever-present for City in the league in 2023/24 until mid-February but started only two of their 10 Champions League matches, playing 33 minutes in total across the two legs against Madrid.

Having played only 17 minutes across their previous three Premier League games – scoring twice – Alvarez was an unused substitute when City clinched the title on the final day of the season against West Ham United.

The 2021 South American Footballer of the Year was not directly involved in any FA Cup goals after the third round of City’s campaign and played for 34 minutes in their surprise 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the final.

City meet Manchester United in the Community Shield on Saturday (3pm). Their Premier League season starts at Chelsea on August 18 (4.30pm), with their first home game against Ipswich Town six days later (3pm).