While Julian Alvarez was a key player for Manchester City, his sale to Atletico Madrid was a brilliant piece of business from Pep Guardiola’s men.
Considering Manchester City signed Alvarez for £14.1 million, the fact that they sold him to Diego Simeone’s side for £82 million (Sky Sports) highlights their astuteness in the transfer market.
However, the mistake City made when offloading the Argentine was failing to sign a replacement for him until they brought in Omar Marmoush earlier this year.
Marmoush looks like the perfect replacement for Alvarez as he is capable of playing up top and behind the striker as well.
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Stefan Ortega says Claudio Echeverri reminds him of Julian Alvarez
Much like the World Cup winner, Manchester City also signed Claudio Echeverri from River Plate.
The 19-year-old has generated a similar level of hype as his countryman before even leaving Argentina to make his move to England, with Angel Di Maria hailing Echeverri’s talent as well.
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After the youngster scored a stunning free-kick to open his account in a Manchester City shirt in their 6-0 win against Al Ain, Stefan Ortega compared him to Alvarez via Sky Sports: “He’s seen the gap in the wall and used it. He reminds me a bit of Julian Alvarez, same type of player, his finishing is incredible, he’s a really good guy, a bit shy in the beginning but I think he could help us a lot.”
"He reminds me of Julian Alvarez" 👀
Stefan Ortega praises Claudio Echeverri for his goal against Al-Ain and says he bears similarities to former Man City striker Alvarez 🔵 pic.twitter.com/Y3iDelMFaH
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 23, 2025
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Ortega called Alvarez “unbelievable”, which goes to show how highly he rates Echeverri by comparing him to the Atletico Madrid striker.
“He’s really young but he travelled far to play football in Europe so it’s not easy for him, of course. But I think that place here in Manchester is good for everyone because the surroundings here are top for players for him to improve so it will be the same with him as well.”
Pep Guardiola delivers ‘incredible’ Claudio Echeverri verdict
Alvarez is one of Thierry Henry’s favourite players and he has lived up to his sizable fee at Atletico Madrid, which proves Ortega’s point about how much players like Echeverri can grow at Manchester City.
Manchester City FC v Al Ain FC: Group G - FIFA Club World Cup 2025
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Considering the former River Plate attacking midfielder played in a front two alongside Erling Haaland and fared well shows that he has the versatility to perform in various positions, defending as a left-winger off the ball.
The highly-rated technician will have to be tactically flexible at Manchester City as the likes of Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Oscar Bobb will all be above him in the pecking order.
However, Pep Guardiola revealed Echeverri is a hard worker behind the scenes, constantly practicing his free-kicks which shows that he has the drive to succeed: “I want to tell you a secret: Last season, when he arrived, after every training session he practiced free-kicks alone! So always; work pays off! If you score a goal, it’s because he practiced! When the other guys don’t practice, they don’t score goals.”
Guardiola added: “He is an incredible player from a small town [Resistencia], a big, big talent in small spaces and [I’m] happy for him. Great goal.”