Man City to shockingly sell star forward to finance deal for £120m Prem striker Guardiola loves

Manchester City are reportedly considering selling Julian Alvarez to Real Madrid this summer to fund Pep Guardiola’s top transfer target.

With Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Alvarez and Jermey Doku currently the only recognized strikers at Man City, the manager is considering what attacking options to add to the squad.

Reports now suggest Guardiola has identified a Premier League striker as his main target. However, he may have to sell Alvarez to complete the deal.

As reported by our friends at TEAMtalk, Real Madrid have a specific interest in the Argentina international.

Carlo Ancelotti wants to add another quality striker to his squad following the departure of Karim Benzema and is a big fan of Alvarez.

Real Madrid are also interested in Haaland, but with the Norwegian international negotiating a new contract with Man City, completing a deal for him may be impossible.

With that in mind, a decision for Alvarez becomes more likely. According to Spanish media SPORT, Real Madrid wants to sign Alvarez “within the next year”.

Although Alvarez won the treble with Man City last season, many people believe that he will be ready to move to the Bernabeu to have more stable playing time.

The World Cup winner started just 13 Premier League matches for the Cityzens last term. This season, however, Alvarez has started all four of their matches, scoring two goals and making one assist in the process.

Alvarez is thought to be concerned that his minutes may diminish again, so a ‘lucrative offer’ from Real Madrid may tempt him.

Should Alvarez leave, Man City could turn their attention to Brighton and Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson.

As mentioned, Guardiola is a huge fan of the 18-year-old. He has made an incredible start this season, netting four goals in four Premier League matches so far – trailing only Haaland (6) in the scoring charts.

Ferguson would not be a cheap addition, though. As reported by Sky Sports, Brighton would only consider offers in the region of £120m for the Ireland international, which just shows how highly Roberto de Zerbi rates him.

Despite that, Guardiola could end up selling Alvarez to Real Madrid in order to raise funds to sign Ferguson, having already placed him at the top of his transfer shortlist.

Ferguson, therefore, is definitely a player for Man City fans to keep an eye out for when the transfer window re-opens in January.