This summer could be an important one for both Man City and Atletico Madrid but for different reasons.
Pep Guardiola’s side head into the 2024/25 campaign with the chance of winning a record-breaking and unprecedented fifth consecutive English top-flight title.
To that end, the Catalan coach will need all of his best players at their top level from first to last.
It’s clear that he has a preferred XI too, and his brilliant striker, Julian Alvarez, doesn’t appear to be in it.
Atletico Madrid chasing Man City’s Julian Alvarez
In effect he has become a luxury substitute for the Cityzens, and for someone of his obvious talent, it’s a real waste of his skill set.
During 2023/24 alone, he managed to score an impressive 23 goals in all competitions for club and country (WhoScored) as well as providing 11 assists.
For any club other than City, there’s a cogent argument that he would be a starter, and that’s where Atletico Madrid could come in.
The Rojiblancos are likely to be saying goodbye to a number of players this summer, one of which has already been confirmed as being Memphis Depay.
Diego Simeone could offer Alvarez a regular starting spot which is something he only appears to earn at City when Erling Haaland is injured.
MARCA report that Atleti have already made their approach to the player, and whilst they appreciate that any deal would be difficult to conclude, that’s unlikely to stop them in their pursuit.
Even if the Spanish top-flight outfit could land the 24-year-old on a loan deal initially, that would represent progress, though the one stumbling block is Guardiola.
Although he has routinely let players leave the club, such as Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez et al, he’s believed to be a huge fan of what the Argentinian World Cup winner brings to his squad and, unlike the aforementioned, isn’t yet surplus to requirements.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at La Liga – CaughtOffside…