Atletico Madrid move, Man City dilemma, Guardiola warning - Inside Julian Alvarez transfer decision

Manchester City arrive back in England on Sunday with a question mark over the future of Julian Alvarez.

The striker is the subject of interest from La Liga side Atletico Madrid with the Spanish outfit having opened negotiations with City. French giants PSG are also keen on the striker.

Alvarez has been on Olympic duty with Argentina having also played and won the Copa America. He is now set for three weeks off before being due back at City but there remains significant uncertainty around the 24-year-old's future.

He's spoken of his desire to play more of the big matches while Pep Guardiola responded in something of a battle of words. Our City writers take us inside the situation.

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So Alvarez has a bit more thinking to do now. He said he wants to play more of the bigger games, then Guardiola saw that and told him sternly to think about his future and let the club know when he's done thinking. The context of that is now a lot more complicated with news of Atletico opening negotiations.

Alvarez did move to clarify his initial comments but crucially didn't say he would definitely stay. The ball is firmly in City's court with the transfer talks - Alvarez has a contract until 2028 and is a young, versatile World Cup-winner and a proven goalscorer. City can demand a lot of money for him and if he stays they have a world-class player in their squad.

You would expect City would want him to stay - although Guardiola doesn't like keeping players who aren't fully committed. If he does stay, he's got to prove he should start ahead of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling