Alvarez was a statement signing from Atletico and he has been sorely missed by Man City so far this season.placeholder image
Alvarez was a statement signing from Atletico and he has been sorely missed by Man City so far this season. | AFP via Getty Images
Liverpool have been linked with a move for Julian Alvarez but how does he compare to the names already mentioned?
Liverpool are ticking off the positions one, by one, as they work their way through an impressive shopping list by, seemingly, signing their top targets in every position.
The marquee signing of the summer is Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in a British record transfer of £114m rising to £118m with add-ons, but Arne Slot might have to dig equally as deep to land a new No.9.
Liverpool have been linked with Julian Alvarez, a player with a proven track record of scoring goals and who looks tailor made to fit into Slot’s team and style of play, after all, if he can play for Diego Simeone, he isn’t afraid of hard work and a team first ethos.
Why Liverpool-linked Julian Alvarez left Man City to join Atletico Madrid
There is an obvious reason why Alvarez left Man City to join Atletico, despite his impressive goal contribution tally of over one every two games, even though he had to make do with playing second fiddle for much of his time in England.
With 29 goals last season for Atletico, he proved his point in emphatic fashion after explaining to beIN Sports in February why he jumped ship to join the Spaniards after being in a treble winning City team: “You always want to play in the most important matches. In the Champions League final, I didn’t come on. In the semifinal, I played just a little, and I would have liked to be in those kinds of games," said Alvarez, clearly irritated at not being trusted by Pep Guardiola to make a difference in big games.
"I needed something different. Something inside me told me that I had to seek a new challenge. When I spoke with Cholo (Simeone) before the Olympic Games, he convinced me. He told me a lot about the club, not just about this season, but also about the coming years. And well… I liked it.”
How does Julian Alvarez compare with four other strikers linked to Liverpool
Liverpool have been linked with a host of strikers already with many fancying Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak, regarded as one of the best No.9s in Europe at the moment, Ollie Watkins or Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike.
Four modern forwards all capable of running channels as well as holding the ball up and linking play, Isak also has a stunning highlight reel of individual goals and assists. There is a reason why he is so highly rated.
Surprisingly though, using Data MB’s comparison model, Alvarez comes out on top against the Swedish international in almost every metric except for goals and expected goals with only a small difference in aerial success despite the height difference between the pair. Watkins and Ekitike are stronger in the air but Alvarez is consistently the better and more accomplished striker on every other metric.
Radar model comparing Julian Alvarez, Alexander Isak, Ollie Watkins and Hugo Ekitike.placeholder image
Radar model comparing Julian Alvarez, Alexander Isak, Ollie Watkins and Hugo Ekitike. | Data MB
Alvarez is more of an all-rounder, capable of dropping into the 10 position or out wide which would be perfect for Slot’s system given how much Mo Salah, Luis Diaz and Wirtz love to run into space and beyond the central striker.
There is also no competition between the four in terms of playing in big games on the biggest stage, Alvarez’s trophy cabinet is proof of that.
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