Man City closing in on deal with River Plate for Alvarez – report

Manchester City are reportedly closing in on a deal to sign Julian Alvarez from River Plate.

The Argentina forward has a host of clubs on his tail, with the player’s ability and his release clause of £21 million making him an attractive prospect.

The Athletic claims Pep Guardiola’s side have elbowed out their rivals and are close to concluding a deal that would see the 21-year-old remain at River for the rest of the season before moving to Eastlands in the summer.

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It is believed Alvarez has his sights trained on playing in the Champions League, which put paid to any prospect of Aston Villa or Bayer Leverkusen signing him last summer.

Should Alvarez make the move to City he would face serious competition for places.

Guardiola is expected to add a striker to his ranks in the summer, while the likes of Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez are options for the other places in attack.

Still, Alvarez is rated extremely highly and as an Argentina international he is unlikely to have trouble securing a work permit.