At just about any other club, Julian Alvarez would be a sure-fire starter, so how will Manchester City keep the Argentine happy amid transfer rumours to Real Madrid?

Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez are celebrating unprecedented success with Manchester City (Image: Getty)

Julian Alvarez was Manchester City’s second-highest goalscorer across all competitions last season, behind Erling Haaland

At just 23-years-old, there isn’t much in the sport that Alvarez has not won. The young man is a World Cup winner and has won the Premier League and Champions League as part of an historic Treble.

So, what do Manchester City do to keep a player of his talent happy when he’s not a guaranteed starter every week?

Carrot on a stick

Many view the Argentine as the continuation plan for when Haaland leaves the club. In previous years the Norwegian has been clear in his desire to play for a variety of clubs including Real Madrid, but with City winning a treble last year it is hard to see last year’s Golden Boot winner moving on anytime soon.

However, the fact that there will almost always be talk around the Norwegian leaving City means that Julian Alvarez will almost always have the carrot of replacing Haaland as the starting striker in front of him. A difficult proposition to ignore for Alvarez.

Alvarez still has another five years left on his contract which will expire in the summer of 2028, by which time City may well have seen Haaland move on for pastures new.

Number 10

So far this season, Guardiola has deployed three players to play just behind Haaland, and Alvarez seems to have flourished playing in the ’10 role’ just behind Haaland. It has seen Alvarez score two goals and chip in with an assist in his four league games so far this season.

In this respect, Alvarez has little to complain about with regards to playing games, however this is all dependent on the fact that star playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne, is currently out injured for what could be a lengthy spell of time.

In the meantime, though, Alvarez could do very well to prove to Guardiola how well he can do in such a role that would see a De Bruyne return not hinder his own playing time.

Out Wide

On one of the biggest stages in world football, Alvarez showed just how good he is on the ball and when running with it at pace. Cast your mind back to Argentina’s World Cup semi-final to when a 22-year-old Alvarez carried the ball from just inside of his own half to finish (albeit in messy fashion) and put his nation 2-0 up.

The departure of Riyad Mahrez and Jeremy Doku’s spotty injury history means that there could be potential for Guardiola to give Alvarez a go in the wider areas of the pitch, where he would no doubt relish cutting in and testing the goalkeeper.

Recent reports suggest that Spanish giants, Real Madrid, will test Manchester City’s resolve by pushing for Julian Alvarez next Summer. City must not forget just how good a player it is that they have got on their hands.

While Alvarez has featured prominently so far this season, he was much more in the backseat last season, and Madrid may decide to try their luck with a huge offer that City would have to consider.

However, he may need to be careful what he wishes for. With Madrid’s penchant for Kylian Mbappe, any move to the Spanish capital for the French superstar may see Alvarez playing second fiddle yet again.