Julian Alvarez has made it clear he is considering considering his future this summer but boss Pep Guardiola does not appear to keen to let him leave Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has made it clear he wants to keep Julian Alvarez at Manchester City, despite the club entering talks with Atletico Madrid over a possible transfer.
The striker has starred for City since arriving in the summer of 2022, helping them to win two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the Club World Cup, as well as firing Argentina to lifting the 2022 World Cup.
But he has seen his opportunities at City become somewhat limited by the stunning form of Erling Haaland. That has led to the Argentine growing unhappy and he has even admitted that he is considering his future this summer.
Mirror Football understands that Arsenal are among the teams monitoring his situation, but with another four years to run on his contract, the ball is firmly in City’s court. And Guardiola now appears to have dashed any hopes Alvarez may have had of being able to secure an exit.
Following City’s 4-2 win over Chelsea, Guardiola described Alvarez as “absolutely our player”. He insisted he expected the 24-year-old to quickly return from his time at the Olympics, following Argentina’s exit at the hands of hosts France.
The City boss added: “No news. I don’t have anything to say. He will come back I count on him, but he said in the news that decisions will be made all together. Now he has to rest and when he feels ready to come back he will come back.
“I’m sure when he comes back I’ll hug and congratulate him for the Copa America, for the Olympics and we will start to work together. This is the reality. What happens in the meantime, I have a thousand million things to think about the team.
“Next week we play for the first trophy of the season [the Community Shield against Manchester United at Wembley]. Two weeks we play at Stamford Bridge again, that’s my only concern.”
Alvarez will now be granted some time off, having featured at both the Copa America and the Olympics this summer following a gruelling season with City. It appears he will spend much of that time weighing up his options.
He said ahead of the defeat to France: “There is a lot of talk. I am focused here [at the Olympics] because it is a short tournament. We will see after the Games. First, if I can, I will take a few days off. Then we will decide.
“At Manchester City, I feel very good, I played a lot of minutes. Maybe it’s annoying to be out in big games; players always want to help on the pitch. But my season was good, so I’m very happy.”
Conte made these remarks while City and Atletico looked to be negotiating a possible £59 million transfer. Atletico Madrid is eager to sign Alvarez and transfer him to La Liga, but City is seeking for a sum of about £70 million.