Pep Guardiola rarely gets it wrong in the transfer market, although in the case of Julian Alvarez he may wish he could turn back the clock. To be fair, back when Manchester City let him go in 2024, Alvarez wasn't quite the scintillating, game-winning asset that he is today, and the Premier League side did receive a tidy profit after recouping £85m from Atletico Madrid. Still, nobody at the Etihad will be the slightest bit amused if the Argentine rocks up at Arsenal next season and puts his old team-mates to the sword. Stranger things have happened.
The Gunners, it has been widely reported,are in the running to land Alvarez - but Mikel Arteta will have to dig deep into his pockets, with the price quoted at well over £100m. Barcelona and Real Madrid are also in the mix, and both would dearly love to nab the crown jewel of a direct rival, with the forwardhaving now gone public with his desire to exit Atleti. A meaningful impact at the World Cup will only serve to drive up Alvarez's price but it's not all been going to plan up to now.
Indeed, heading into the tournament carrying an ankle injury, Lionel Scaloni has used Alvarez cautiously up to now, with the 26-year-old having only come off the bench in Argentina's first two group games before he put in a disappointing display from the start against Jordan. Indeed, it was back to the bench again for the in-demand Atleti forward for the first knockout round of the tournament, and his best work was done defensively against Cape Verde, as he was brought on just after the hour mark with Argentina struggling to put their minnow opponents to bed. What might work in Alverez's favour, however, is the fact Lautaro Martinez has hardly been firing on all cylinders, which could tempt Scaloni into making a change to his attack - with Thiago Almada's place also at threat - for the last-16 meeting with Egypt.
Player value before World Cup started:£120m
Current player value:£105m (⬇️ by £15m)