Julian Alvarez is set to join up with the Manchester City first team this summer once his loan spell at River Plate comes to an end, Pep Guardiola has confirmed.
The striker signed for the Premier League champions in January but was immediately loaned back to his former club on a short-term deal. The 22-year-old has scored 41 goals in 106 games for his boyhood club, also grabbing 27 assists.
He netted his first senior goal for Argentina during last month’s international break, starting the 1-1 draw with Ecuador alongside Lionel Messi. Guardiola has now reiterated his plans to integrate Alvarez into the first team set-up at the Etihad this summer.
READ MORE: Julian Alvarez gets Lionel Messi seal of approval as Man City learn more about summer signing
The Catalan coach is eager to see how his £15m recruit can bond with his City teammates on the field, and relayed his confidence in the attacker when speaking to Telemundo (via Infobae ).
“Next year he’ll be in preseason, for sure,” he said. “I learn from the players and I want to see him on the pitch, with his teammates, with what we want to do. If we were not convinced of this, we wouldn’t have signed.”
Guardiola lauded Alvarez's quality and his ability to pounce upon a goalscoring opportunity, amid debate about the exact position and role the player will take up for City.
He added: “If we signed him, it’s for us and if we signed him it’s because he has the potential to play with us. To be a scandalous ‘nine’ — and when he’s in front of goal, he smells a goal and the goal is worth a lot of money. And he cost money, and (it’s) what players are paid in Europe.
"From South America to Europe, it may cost more. But we have exceptional reports of the boy and in the end he has that feeling of short space, how he finishes, it is very difficult to find.”
River Plate technical secretary Enzo Francescoli recently explained why his club were eager to keep the attacker on for a little while longer before letting him go. “For us, it’s better for the player to stay here,” he said.
“We try to look after the player, and he knows that. There is an age issue.
“Sometimes guys leave very young, and it’s hard for them. It’s very difficult to make the leap to Europe and for everything to work out.”
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