Manchester City’s “future superstar” may be the next Alvarez

Manchester City may be at the end of a trophy-filled era, but it is clear that Pep Guardiola is looking for a future to ensure this season is a one-off.

Espanyol spent about £190 million in the winter transfer window to strengthen his first team and add some much-needed freshness.

Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez all arrived in Etihad, three of four players aged 23 or older, as Guardiola searched for the best young talent in the market.

Marmoush is outlier in this regard, but the club needs another player who can compete with Erling Haaland and provide additional play for Man City Side, who have won only 14 of their 29 Premier League games so far.

Early signs are certainly promising, with the Egyptian star easily resident in Manchester, replicating his amazing performance for Eintracht Frankfurt in the first half of the season, which led him to net 20 goals in 25 games.

Omar Marmoush’s start at Manchester City

Helan won 90 goals in his first two seasons at the club, winning two Premier League titles and Champions League in the process.

The return of 29 goals this season is indeed considerable, but he did experience three goals in 13 league games from the end of September to the beginning of 2025.

This is struggling with Manchester City in the top flight, losing six games and falling behind in the championship battle.

Signing Marmoush has brought a significant improvement to the team, and his positional flexibility has given Guardiola some options.

Indeed, in seven league games, Marmoush scored four goals in the interim.

After selling Julian Alvarez to Atlético Madrid last summer, Manchester City was poor in the first half of the season and relying too much on Haaland.

The former Frankfurt Star signing has eased Norway’s sensation, and the partnership could shine throughout the 2025/26 season.

However, the loss of Alvarez has proven to be a huge mistake for Guardiola.

Why Julian Alvarez leaves Manchester City

Despite his incredible talent, Alvarez often competes with Haaland for the starting XI position. In the 2022/23 season, only 23 of his 49 appearances were found from the start, finding 17 net rebounds.

The 2023/24 season is much better, as Manchester City retained the Premier League title, with 19 goals and 13 assists in 53 games.

He was a great choice for Guardiola, but last summer, rumors of his future at the club surfaced, with the city owner revealing that players were asking to leave for a “new challenge.”

Manchester City sold the striker to Madrid’s Atletto Madrid’s Atletto Madrid after signing the 2022 World Cup championship for £14m in January 2022, with the region costing £81.5m, representing the club’s record sales.

The deal is certainly profitable, but if Hyland was injured for a long time, that manager wouldn’t have been recognized as a center in the team.

Although City was in trouble at the start of the six months of the season, Alvarez has been enjoying his life in Madrid, scoring 28 goals in all competitions – 23 goals and 5 assists.

Can the manager already brew his next Alvarez in the city?

Manchester City can already have the next Alvarez

Just like the move to bring Alvarez to England, Guardiola paid around £12.5 million to the River Plate in January 2024 to secure the service of the very talented teenager Claudio Echeverri.

He will remain at the club until January this year, when he finally moved to the UK, where he can follow in Alvarez’s footsteps, perhaps better than the 25-year-old.

Throughout the 2023/24 campaign, Echeverri played 41 games on the river board, scoring four goals and recording six assists in the process, close to the final in November last year.

His best performance was during the U20 CONMEBOL Championship held in January and February this year.

The midfielder started seven games in nine games in Argentina, scoring six goals, grabbing three assists and creating two big opportunities for his country as they reached the finals of the game.

The 19-year-old also scored 1.6 dribbling per game, 1.8 goals per game, and scored every 98 minutes, showing his talent in the game.

Although Argentina may not win, Guardiola will keep an eye on the teenager throughout the game and he will surely bow to the city as soon as possible instead of later.

Analyst Ben Mattinson introduced the midfielder to midfielders when signing with Man City in early 2024:

After spending a year in his homeland, only his development helped him, as the teenager was unlikely to enter the city midfield at the end of last season.

After starring in the South American Youth Championship last month, Guardiola may eventually start bleeding Echeverri in the next few months.

With the club World Championships taking place this summer, could this be the ideal time to get the 19-year-old game time? In particular, the tournament ranks low on importance to the city.

There is no doubt that he may be the future of the club, and Guardiola will soon forget Alvarez once the front river board sensation was on the Etihad River. This is a certainty.