Chelsea receive £63m summer transfer boost after what Man City did on deadline day
According to latest reports via Football London, Chelsea have received a much needed Erling Haaland transfer boost ahead of the summer window after Manchester City signed Julian Alvarez on deadline day.
However, Pep Guardiola’s side, as per the Manchester Evening News, completed the signing of South American Footballer of the Year Alvarez for a fee of around £14million.
A club statement on the Man City website read: “The 22-year-old forward, who has already collected five senior international caps with Argentina, has agreed a five-and-a-half-year deal.”
Director of Football Txiki Begiristain believes City have signed a player with significant potential.
“Julian is a player we have monitored for some time,” Begiristain said. “He is capable of operating in a number of attacking roles, and we firmly believe he’s one of the best young attacking players in South America.
‘“I am so happy we have managed to bring him to Manchester City. I really believe we can provide him with the right conditions to fulfil his potential and become a top player.”’
What does this mean for the Cityzens’ long-standing interest in the Borussia Dortmund number 9?
With the River Plate marksman returning to his former club for a short loan stint until the end of the season, his first steps in Manchester will coincide well with when Haaland himself becomes the centre of attention in the transfer window.
The player, who was held in high regard by Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel before the club record purchase of Romelu Lukaku, has his £63million release clause coming into play in the summer and it’s not a surprise to see many of the European elite looking into a potential bargain.
Does this Alvarez signing now rule Man City out of this transfer race?
Not totally but Chelsea can take some hope from the fact that the serial goalscorer, who is valued at £135m by Transfermarkt (not taking into account the release clause), may not be top of the summer agenda for the current Premier League champions who could have other priorities come the end of the 2021/22 season.
Haaland, who has betted against Tuchel’s side winning the Champions League, knows that it is approaching crunch time for his future with his recent admission which has alerted European’s powerhouses.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I don’t really want to say too much about it (the comments), but I felt it was time for me to say something.
“A lot of others were speaking – so that was it. Now, I don’t want to say too much. I said what I said, and now we move on.”
The 21-year-old has sat back and watched this crazy deadline day unfold with all of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele amongst many other players dominating the agenda in this last 24 hours but Haaland certainly knows that his time for all the transfer attention is certainly soon to come.