Explained: Julian Alvarez’s move to Man City and why he’s more than an ’emerging talent’
Julian Alvarez, Manchester City, River Plate
By Sam Lee Feb 1, 2022 8 Last summer, Manchester City’s determination to sign a striker pushed them towards two of the biggest names in the game: Harry Kane and then Cristiano Ronaldo.
But behind the scenes, they had also set their “emerging talent” team to work. The message was clear: all hands on deck, every scout available, go and find us a No 9, any age will do.
The emerging talent team are responsible for those transfers that City complete from time to time for players who are highly rated in local markets but will be loaned out to Girona or Lommel or Mumbai or whoever else in the City Football Group and beyond.
Julian Alvarez may have been identified by that global army of scouts but he is no buy-to-sell investment, and on Monday, he celebrated his 22nd birthday by signing for City.
Although some at the club urge caution, arguing that he is more of a City Football Group signing than a purely City signing, the noises from sources closely involved in the deal are more encouraging.
They stress that he has the quality to contribute now, but given the competition for places in Pep Guardiola’s front line it could harm his development if he were to arrive immediately, so he will stay at River Plate until at least July.
That doesn’t suggest that, even at the age of 22, they consider him genuinely good enough to come in and tear up trees, a bit like Gabriel Jesus did at the age of 19 in January 2017, but the hope is that he will be able to do that in the next year.
It is similar, in terms of the structure of the deal, to Kayky, the 18-year-old forward who was signed from Fluminense last year. The Brazilian also remained at his club, until they felt they were simply developing somebody else’s player and stopped playing him.
Kayky has been training with Guardiola’s first team since September but is playing for City’s under-23s, although he made his senior debut as a late substitute in the FA Cup against Swindon in early January. There is a first-team pathway for Kayky but he is one to be patient over.
The hope for Alvarez is somewhat loftier, but is subject to all sorts of moving parts, not least how City fare in the transfer market. Alvarez’s signing will not stop them from trying to sign a big-name striker, and indeed they will do what they can to tempt Erling Haaland to join them. They are aware he prefers Real Madrid, but they will attempt to change his mind in the coming months.
There is a suggestion within City now, though, that if the big Norway striker isn’t signed, Alvarez would be the man they turn to. Quite how that pans out remains to be seen, considering they have tried to sign Joao Felix on at least three occasions and that he is currently keen to leave Atletico Madrid, but it certainly suggests that Alvarez is seen as a genuine contender.
Manchester City are still hoping to prise Haaland to the Premier League (Photo: Alexander Scheuber/Getty Images)
No wonder, considering his performances over the last year, with his 18 goals in a fine league campaign. What’s more, he has done it largely as a false nine. It sounds like Guardiola’s dream, doesn’t it? Not to mention the billing as one of South America’s top prospects, with 36 goals and 25 assists in 96 appearances, and comparisons to City favourites Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez.
It is easy to get carried away but there is a grey area here. He is not ready to go yet, despite being five months older than Phil Foden, and there is a possibility that City sign a bigger name before he arrives. If the competition for places is too big now, it could be even bigger after the summer transfer window.
What we do know is that he will be a River player until they are eliminated from the Copa Libertadores. The “loan” ends on July 7, the day after the Libertadores last-16 second leg, but if River are still in the competition it will trigger a clause that will allow Alvarez to stay into next season.
If they were to lose in the semi-finals in September, for example, the idea is that he would travel to Manchester straight away. That was his request.
However, if City were not to sign Haaland or anybody else and they felt the need to bring in Alvarez in the summer, they can pay £1.26 million to bring him over earlier.
The transfer itself was done pretty smoothly, although the final fee is the subject of debate and it was only agreed after Alvarez’s agent, Fernando Hidalgo, embarked on a tour of Europe to initiate a sale.
The forward’s River contract was due to expire in June and attempts to tie him down to a new deal, albeit with the same release clause of €20 million/£16.6 million, were knocked back last November. The rumour was that the two parties could not agree on salary demands but in reality, a transfer was already being explored.
Other top European clubs were sought out — Manchester United were heavily linked just a few weeks ago — but City had done their homework and smelt an opportunity, owing largely to that buyout clause. Alvarez is said to have fully bought into the English club’s plans for his future and there is no doubt at his end that he is being bought for the first team.
City’s scouts had already done their leg work and their expansive South American operation, headed up by Joan Patsy, a very close ally of sporting director Txiki Begiristain, had helped put the wheels in motion.
So on the morning of Wednesday, January 19, CFG representatives arrived at River’s offices in the business district of Buenos Aires to strike a deal. A day later, a verbal agreement was reached at the club’s iconic Monumental Stadium, and the news broke in Argentina a day later.
City confirmed his arrival on Monday, around 10 days later and perhaps the announcement can be put down to the difference in fees being quoted on either side of the Atlantic. City say they have paid €17 million, or roughly £14 million, which is less than the buyout clause in Alvarez’s contract, and it is understood that the club had been working with River to lower that fee over the past few days.
There had been talks with River over Valentin Castellanos, a striker at New York City, and Andrew Teuten, a left-back at Torque, both CFG clubs, being included as part of the operation, although that has not transpired yet.
In Argentina, sources say that City paid around £20 million, so that River would receive the full buyout clause — the second-highest fee received in their history, after Javier Saviola’s move to Barcelona — after various taxes and other fees were deducted. They have also paid $1 million out of their end to Atalaya de Cordoba, a local side who owned a portion of Alvarez’s rights.
So it’s hard to work out exactly how much he cost and exactly when he will arrive in Manchester, let alone how big an impact he will have.
But the figures and plans involved suggest that he is much more than just another “emerging talent”.
