Aston Villa are ready to rival AC Milan in the race to sign Julian Alvarez, who will be available for €25 million.
According to Calciomercato, Julian Alvarez could soon be on the verge of a move to Europe. The River Plate sensation has raised many eyebrows with his performances in Argentina, with his €25 million release clause making him one of the hottest properties in the South American market.
AC Milan are primarily the club interested in the services of Alvarez. But they are yet to begin official negotiation with River Plate, with Aston Villa now prepared to rival the Serie A giants, in the race to sign the young attacking ace.
A centre-forward by trade, Alvarez is a product of the River Plate youth academy and has enjoyed steady progress since being promoted to the senior side in 2019. The attacker has notched up 86 competitive appearances for the club, scoring 26 goals while registering 21 assists.
His almost even goals-to-assist ratio suggests that the 21-year-old is a modern forward, who can drift into channels and create spaces for his opponents as well as score goals. In fact, the Argentine can operate on both flanks, in addition to his favoured number nine role.
His short 1.70m frame allows him to squeeze through tight spaces as well as making himself a nuisance in the final third. The youngster’s qualities in the attack seem to have put Aston Villa on red alert, as the Premier League outfit look to find a potential alternative for their main forwards in Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings.
Watkins has already endured a slow start to the new season, while Villans might end up offloading another forward in Anwar El Ghazi, in the upcoming January transfer window. The Dutchman is attracting interest from AS Roma, and his potential sale could pave the way for someone like Alvarez to make the move to Villa Park.
The Argentine can offer some much-needed competition for Watkins, while also covering the wide players in Emi Buendia and Leon Bailey. However, with Milan in pole position to secure the services of the River Plate prodigy, it will be quite the task for the Villans to hijack the deal due to their lack of pedigree in Europe.
