Alvarez done deal - £82m to Atletico

[Ric]

Absolutely zero chance we loan Alvarez out.

 

[lancs blue]

I think what was exposed in the Euros was Southgate’s tactical limitations not Phil’s footballing limitations.

Not just down to Southgate for once - Kane's disappearing act was a huge liability, it significantly reduced Foden's effectiveness.

 

[meeesh]

Reports now that they want to loan Alvarez because we will make it to hard for them! Fuck me we will be one soft arse pussies if we loan out a player of Alvarez quality when he played the 4/5th most games last season!

Can’t see Pep authorising or agreeing to that

 

[Mancini’s Pastilles]

If Atletico had the money to pay for that Wanker Felix then they have 80 mill for Julian

 

[Passarella]

Foden is above Julian in direct footballing comparisons. Should Nacho or Carvahal be up for the Balon D'or?

thats your opinion but Julian has won a lot more

 

[HelloCity]

Would be disappointed to lose him, but it was always going to be difficult to keep him happy as a backup to Haaland. The experiment with him playing deeper last season never really worked, and he's too good not to be starting regularly. Hope he doesn't go, but can see why Atletico would appeal to him and we would at least get a decent fee for him. Alvarez out, Olmo in wouldn't be the worst scenario in terms of squad options. Would still need a backup for Haaland though.

We’ve done well in the past with no striker at all.

 

[blueparrot]

We’ve done well in the past with no striker at all.

Only with Jesus who understood the role. We tried,Foden, Grealish, Bernardo with varying degrees of success. Not sure we have the required player to play false 9 if Alvarez went. Doubt he goes anyway this summer.

 

[Blue_Lightsaber]

And I'd love Margot Robbie on loan too!

Reality is I could afford to pay Chelsea for an Astrid loan but Margot Robbie loan isn't gonna work!

 

[Ajm1985]

Only with Jesus who understood the role. We tried,Foden, Grealish, Bernardo with varying degrees of success. Not sure we have the required player to play false 9 if Alvarez went. Doubt he goes anyway this summer.

Olmo would be alright at false 9 in fairness

 

[Haaland94]

Nightmare scenario is if we sell Julian this summer to accommodate him and then can't get a contract extension done with Haaland. We'd be up the fucking creek - Alvarez is quite literally the only insurance policy we have right now if Haaland doesn't want to keep playing in Manchester.

Another thing to keep in mind is how much it would cost to bring in a striker with Alvarez's resume and caliber to the club. We'd likely be paying north of £100m to get a Julian Alvarez if the roles were reversed. And that's even assuming a striker is available for purchase, which as we all know is far from a certainty. The striker market has been dry for years and star goal scorers usually don't just become available.

If that bum Rasmus Hojlund went for £72m last summer I don't' see how we're selling for anything less than £85-90m and that's only if we get positive news on Haaland signing a contract extension. I know I'd be pushing for a 9 figure fee given what Atleti paid for Joao Felix.

Also, any such Alvarez replacement would have to accept being our 2nd choice striker. In other words, it's not happening. I reckon we would just play with a false 9 again if needed.