Though they still trail Arsenal in the race for the 2022/23 Premier League title, Man City were handed a real boost on Thursday as one of their major first-team stars committed himself to the club until 2028.
Since Julian Alvarez joined the club from River Plate, he’s proved to be a fantastic signing, scoring 10 goals and assisting for three more according to WhoScored.
At just 23 years of age, Alvarez clearly has the brightest of futures ahead of him, with a recent past of a World Cup win to boot.
It was clear that he was delighted to put pen to paper on a new deal.
“This is a very proud moment for me and my family,” he was quoted as saying by the official Man City website.
“For a club like City to put their faith in me like this is amazing. I have been really pleased with my first season here, but I have plenty more I can do. I know I can be better, and City offer me everything I need to fulfil my potential.
“I want to thank the manager, the coaches and everyone at City who works behind the scenes for everything they have done for me since I joined in the summer. I could not have asked for more. This is a club that looks after its players, and I have felt so supported throughout my time here.
“I am now focused on getting better and helping City win trophies.”
His mixture of dogged determination, an eye for goal and the desire to never give up is what will have endeared him to the City faithful.
The challenge for Alvarez now is to make himself an indispensable part of Pep Guardiola’s starting XIs.
A luxury that Guardiola has at present is that in almost every position he’s able to bring in squad players of equal abilities.
A subs bench that boasted Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and others in their recent Champions League tie against RB Leipzig attests to that.
With so much talent at his disposal, Alvarez has his work cut out to impress the Catalan enough to keep him in situ at the start of every game, however, if he carries on the way he’s started in his first season in the English top-flight, he’ll give Guardiola a selection headache.