Yesterday marked two significant events for Julian Alvarez – his transfer to Manchester City was confirmed and he celebrated his 22nd birthday.
Many fans were under the impression that Alvarez would be linking up with Pep Guardiola's squad this summer, but on the face of it, this isn't the case. Fernando Hidalgo, Alvarez's agent confirmed to TyCSports that the player will stay at River Plate until December and City will have to pay a fee of €1.5million if they wish to recall him before then.
Sam Lee of The Athletic makes clear that the Argentina international will be a River player until the club are eliminated from the Copa Libertadores. Should River be eliminated in the round-of-16 in July, the loan would end in that month. However, if they progress, there is a clause that allows the 22-year-old to continue in South America into the 2022/23 season.
Sam Lee also writes that if River are knocked out at the semi-final stage in September, the idea is that Alvarez would travel to Manchester immediately – this being his request.
The Athletic writer confirms that the Premier League champions can pay £1.26million (roughly €1.5million) to bring Alvarez to the Etihad Stadium earlier – which could presumably be an option explored if the club cannot land someone like Erling Haaland in the summer window.
Written by: @TomCayless_
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