Manchester United ‘put in call’ to enquire about £17 million-rated striker - Reports

According to sources, Manchester United has reportedly enquired about 21-year-old Argentina and River Plate striker Julian Alvarez.

Alvarez scored 20 goals and had seven assists in 31 appearances across all competitions in the recently concluded season. He also has a total of five appearances for the Argentina international team so far. He is yet to open his scoring account for Argentina but the striker’s club performances have resulted in interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

This includes the likes of Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Juventus. Alvarez is under contract until December 2022 and has a release clause of £17million. It will increase to £21 million in the last 10 days of the upcoming transfer windows. That is a sum all of the linked clubs are more than capable of paying.

According to Ole, Manchester United only enquired about Julian Alvarez and put in a call a few weeks ago. River Plate is reluctant to let the player go unless his release clause is met. Hence, it seems more a matter of the clubs convincing the player than anything else.

Manchester United linked with striker amid concerns over Edinson Cavani, Anthony Martial’s futures

In recent weeks, rumors surrounding permanent moves for Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial have only intensified. Martial’s agent claimed the forward wants to leave while Cavani is reportedly keen to play for Barcelona before retiring.

Manchester United have long been linked with a move for Erling Haaland but the Norwegian striker has attracted interest from every financially-capable club in the world. Except Bayern Munich, as Mino Raiola pointed out recently. If both Martial and Cavani leave in January, Manchester United will be left with only Cristiano Ronaldo and Mason Greenwood as recognized centre-forwards.

Rashford is in poor form, Jadon Sancho was bought to play on the right and Jesse Lingard is also reportedly keen on a move. In such a scenario, Manchester United might need to go in for a striker sooner than expected. They have been linked to a number of young potential stars and are also reportedly speaking to Atletico Madrid about Joao Felix.

Needless to say, Ralf Rangnick’s Manchester United is expected to undergo major personnel changes in the coming window. The manager has already complained about a bloated squad and will also be looking to trim it in January. The outgoings have already begun in the coaching department and can be expected to extend to the squad in the coming windows.