"He Was Excited For Him!" - Former Manchester City Star Reveals Chat With Sergio Agüero About Julian Alvarez
Joining River Plate as a teenager, Julian Alvarez has gone on to establish his reputation as one of the best young forwards in South America.
Boasting a goalscoring record of 53 goals in 105 games across all competitions for his former side, the numbers certainly make for good reading.
The 22-year-old also comes to Manchester City after bagging the Best Player in South America award for his stupendous displays last season.
Despite generating a ton of hype since his move to the Sky Blues, the Argentine still remains an unknown commodity in English football.
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As a result, there have been a number of takes on his style of play that have divided opinion online within the City fanbase online.
One school of thought exists that the Argentine international is an out-and-out number nine, and will serve as an able understudy to Erling Haaland.
While another opinion centres around how Alvarez is more than just a striker, possessing the versatility of being able to provide cover in wide areas as well.
Previous reports have gone as far as to claim that City were always prepared for the exits of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, due to the arrival of the multifunctional forward.
While the debate is expected to rage on, former Sky Blues defender Joleon Lescott has given an insight into Sergio Agüero’s assessment about his fellow countryman’s game.
“I’ve seen little bits, but I’ve also spoken to Sergio (Agüero) about him briefly and he said he was a top talent.
"He was excited for him, which was good, so that’ll be a high expectation.
"Sergio said (Alvarez) will score goals,” he revealed, as quoted by Manchester City’s official website.
The retired centre-back also touched on how the club’s all-time top scorer viewed the parallels between him and Alvarez.
“He can also excite fans, Sergio said, possibly more than him, not in terms of scoring but in terms of the way he plays.
"He wants to dribble a little bit more than what Sergio did, who was more ‘let me score’ which was great for us but a different mindset.”
Ultimately, Agüero seems to echo a popular opinion that the Premier League champions have signed a prospect who has a lot more to his game than simply being a clinical finisher.
With Pep Guardiola transforming Agüero into his most complete ever version in order to deem him ready to lead City’s attack, the Catalan boss may be buzzing to work alongside a forward as multifaceted as Julian Alvarez.
Supporters may get a first glimpse of their new man in action tonight, when City face Club América in Houston, Texas.
Topics: Manchester City, Sergio Aguero, Julian Alvarez, Premier League
Srinivas Sadhanand