In a recent report, El Intransigente has claimed that Aston Villa are keeping tabs on River Plate forward Julian Alvarez. It is believed that the Villans could face competition in the form of Bayer Leverkusen, AC Milan, Ajax and Real Madrid in pursuit of the Argentine marksman.
Alvarez’s Encouraging Numbers In Argentine Football This Season
The 21-year-old is a product of River Plate’s academy and has done well to produce plenty of eye-catching displays as the spearhead of their attack. Alvarez has banged in 11 goals and grabbed six assists in 14 matches for the Argentine giants in the Liga Profesional.
The Calchin-born centre-forward deserves a pat on the back for averaging 1.1 tackles, 2.9 shots, 1.6 key passes and 1.9 dribbles per game in the Argentine top-flight. However, he needs to work on improving his accuracy when interchanging possession in the final third based on his pass success rate of 70.3% in league football (stats via whoscored).
Alvarez‘s current contract at the River Plate Stadium expires at the end of next year, so the Villans could potentially land him for a cut-price fee if they decide to launch a move for the promising youngster in January or next summer.
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What Will The Argentine Striker Bring To Aston Villa?
Alvarez has shown that he can create some decent openings for his teammates up top and is proficient at engineering a yard of space for himself to get a few shots in on-target. He is slowly transforming himself into a composed finisher in the attacking end of the pitch.
The Argentine talent is primarily a centre-forward but can even fill in as a right-sided wide player if required. More importantly, he can chip in with some important goals and assists when his teammates need him to step up the most.
At 21, Alvarez has the potential to become a top striker someday, so Aston Villa boss Dean Smith should think about securing his signature next year. We can expect the River Plate whizkid to bring a lot of quality to the Villans‘ first XI. He will also add some healthy competition for Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins at Villa Park over the next few seasons.
