'A little bit of luck' aided Man City's striker search as Julian Alvarez deal nears completion

For what seems like an eternity, the coronavirus pandemic has dominated the front pages and Manchester City's pursuit of a striker has dominated the back pages.

So, it seems pretty apt that the former has aided the latter. That probably makes absolutely no sense whatsoever but bear with me.

Having failed to secure a replacement for Sergio Aguero in the summer, Pep Guardiola's hunt for a striker has continued into 2022.

The City boss is expected to pursue a deal for Erling Haaland in the summer transfer window, though he's edging closer to adding a striker to his future options in the mid-season window, with Julian Alvarez on the verge of completing his move to the Premier League champions.

The Argentinian striker is expected to remain with River Plate until at least July and could even have to wait until November to join up with City if River Plate reaches the latter stages of the Copa Libertadores.

Alvarez is the talk of the town in Manchester right now - well, on the blue side at least - so City Is Ours editor Dom Farrell was joined by Argentinian football expert Dan Edwards on the latest MEN Facebook Live to discuss the 21-year-old's recent development.

Dan kicked off by noting that had it not been for River's financial plight and their need to move on some of their biggest stars, Alvarez might not have been handed the opportunity to showcase his talents in the first team and so possibly wouldn't have found himself on Guardiola's radar.

"A lot of that [Alvarez finding his feet in the River Plate starting XI] had to do with a little bit of luck.

"He was in a situation where River Plate really struggled after the pandemic with their finances.

"They'd just got rid of Rafael Borré - the Colombian forward who'd been their