Speculation over Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson may have died down a little bit, but it is certainly picking up over Julian Alvarez.
The star is still away at the moment with Argentina.
Alvarez went to the Copa America, and then went to the Olympics.
He made some interesting comments about his future earlier this week, suggesting that he needed to think about what he wants to do after returning from the Games in Paris.
He has been strongly linked with Atletico Madrid, and Arsenal have apparently also registered their interest.
Pep Guardiola gave a somewhat blunt reply earlier this week when asked about Alvarez’s comments suggesting he wanted to play more and there does seem to be a bit of tension over this situation.
But things may come to a head before long, with Fabrizio Romano dropping an update this morning.
Julian Alvarez agent due in Europe this coming week for talks with Man City over his future
Alvarez is no longer on Olympics duty after Argentina were beaten 1-0 by France in the quarter-final.
So attention will now turn to his future. He will be afforded some time to rest up and there is likely to be plenty more speculation about his future while he continues to be away from the squad.
It remains to be seen if he will actually come back.
Top journalist Fabrizio Romano has ominously reported this morning on X: “Julián Álvarez’s agent will be in Europe next week to discuss with Man City.
“Manchester City can let him leave if Álvarez wants to go… but only for an important fee as City won’t accept bids in the region of €40/50m. PSG and Atlético, calling Álvarez’s agent since June.”
City are next in action next Saturday as they take on Manchester United in the Community Shield.
£100,000-a-week star Alvarez will, of course, not be involved in that game. It is very likely he will miss the start of the 2024/25 season as well, with Chelsea up first for City on August 18.
City need resolution to Alvarez situation ASAP
So Alvarez’s agent will be jetting in for talks with the club about his client, who is clearly very open to leaving this summer.
That is a bit of a shame, as he obviously got a lot of opportunities last season. But that said, he was arguably only able to play as much as he did because of injuries to other players.
City need to get this situation resolved as quickly as possible, with Pep said to be unhappy over it behind the scenes. It is different from the Ederson situation, because Stefan Ortega is right there and ready to come in and replace him if he leaves.
If Alvarez – who is ‘very likely’ to leave according to journalist Edu Gastol – was sold, then City would need to buy a new striker, and it would not be easy to get someone of similar quality, and someone who’d be happy playing second fiddle to Erling Haaland.
That’s why a decision is needed one way or another, as quickly as possible, with the new season now just two weeks away.