5 potential Manchester City replacements for Julián Álvarez valued at less than his €75m sale fee

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Anthony Gordon included 

It was officially announced on Monday that one of Manchester City’s key attackers on their road to winning a fifth straight Premier League title last season had left the club and was off to seek new pastures this summer. Versatile forward Julián Álvarez departed the Sky Blues. Just two years after making the move to England from River Plate, he signed for Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid in a deal worth an initial €75 million but that could reach €95m with add-ons. Álvarez became Man City’s record sale by some margin – eclipsing the €56.2m Chelsea paid for Raheem Sterling in 2022 – while also earning the club a healthy profit on a player they signed for just €21.4m in January 2022. Should the add-ons be met in the future and Atlético end up paying the full €95m for Álvarez’s signature, it will make the player the eighth biggest sale in English football history.

So far during this summer transfer window, the only significant incoming at Man City was their €25m acquisition of Brazilian Savinho from sister club Troyes. However, they have recouped €116m from five player sales, with of course the Álvarez deal contributing the lion’s share of that figure. Despite 115 charges hanging over the club, with news this Tuesday suggesting the hearing for those charges is to be brought forward to September, since the summer 2022 transfer window, Man City only have a net spend of -€35.63m. For context Chelsea’s is -€836.99m in that period. It’s likely Pep Guardiola’s team will go back into the market to try and replace the departed Argentine attacker before the deadline on August 30. So who could that player be? We have picked out five potential targets Man City could go for.

A huge issue facing Man City when looking to bring in a replacement forward is the fact they already have the best in the business when it comes to the traditional no 9 position in the prolific Erling Haaland. One of Álvarez’s shining lights for City was that he could practically be used anywhere across the front line and could even line up alongside the Norwegian striker up front. According to our data, for the Sky Blues, Álvarez played 45 games as a centre-forward, 22 matches as a second striker, 16 as an attacking midfielder and six on the wing. The difficulty bringing in a big money out-and-out striker is going to be they will get little game-time unless Haaland is injured. With that in mind, we have tried to select players who could be capable of playing multiple roles in Guardiola’s ever-evolving system. We have also only selected players with a market value of less than the €75m that Álvarez was sold for.

If we are looking at strikers who performed at the top level last season, it’s hard to look past Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins. The Englishmen topped the assist charts in the entire Premier League whilst scoring 19 goals as the Villains clinched a fourth place finish. At 28 years old, Watkins currently boasts a market value of €65m. Aston Villa would likely be very reluctant to let their main striker leave. However, they have spent a lot of money this summer, and already sold Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby – both of whom were key performers last campaign. Whilst Watkins has primarily played as a lone no 9 over the past few seasons (posing the Haaland problem) his pace would mean he could potentially take up a wider role, or could even line up alongside the big Norwegian. Watkins would however have to likely accept significantly less game-time than at Villa last season, but the sway of potential silverware could sway him to make the move.

One player on the market who could well fit the ‘second striker’ role that Man City may perhaps be seeking is Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram. Last season he formed a formidable partnership with striker Lautaro Martínez, and provided a league high 13 assists in Serie A. The 27-year-old Frenchmen currently boasts a market value of €65m, but has only been with the Italian giants for one season. Thuram was linked with Chelsea in January (as almost every player is nowadays) and having joined Inter as a free agent could offer pure profit for the Italian side who have had financial issues in recent years.

 Moving away from the more orthodox strikers, one attacker who could tickle Man City’s interest is NewcastleAnthony Gordon. The 24-year-old Englishmen enjoyed a superb 2023/24 season for the Magpies, providing 21 Premier League goal contributions. Whilst he mainly plays as a left-winger, Gordon highlighted his own versatility last season when he stepped in to lead the line in Alexander Isak’s absence. He currently has a market value of €65m and is one of the most sought-after young talents in the division. Gordon has been linked with Liverpool throughout the summer, and although it’s thought that the Newcastle would rather keep hold of their winger, reports suggest a big offer could sway them to sell.

A slightly younger exciting striker on the market, with a market value of just €60m is RB Leipzig’s Loïs Openda. The Belgian was involved in 31 direct goal contributions last season in the Bundesliga alone, and at 24, has a very high ceiling. He had previously been linked loosely with Man City last summer, and the Álvarez sale may just have the Sky Blues sniffing around again. Leipzig have, however, already lost Dani Olmo to Barcelona this summer, and would probably want to avoid losing another key man. Openda also boasts the attribute of having played out wide before or as a second striker, thus meaning he could add versatility to City’s frontline.

If Man City wanted to target a younger forward, who would come in, not expect to play every minute straight away, and who could learn from Haaland, then perhaps Brighton’s Evan Ferguson could be the man. The 19-year-old Irish striker stalled slightly last season in an injury-ravaged campaign, after showing such early promise as a teenager on the south-coast. Nevertheless, he remains one of the most valuable young strikers in the game at €50m. In fact, the only teenage centre-forward worth more than him in world football is Real Madrid’s 18-year-old Endrick. Ferguson has also been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea this window.