Julian Alvarez's first coach knew he was destined for the top - when he was just two

Julian Alvarez 's first coach knew he had a player on his hands when ­ Manchester City ’s new striker was just two years old.

Alvarez was a toddler in the sleepy agricultural Argentine town of Calchin when his dad Gustavo took him to watch his older brothers turn out for local junior side Club Atletico.

Rafael Varas, delivery driver by day and coach of Club Atletico by night, could not believe his eyes when he saw this kid, who had just learned to walk, kicking a ball like he was born to it.

It seems he was.

Alvarez, who is 22 ­on Monday, is about to follow in the ­footsteps of compatriots ­Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta, Carlos Tevez and Nicolas ­Otamendi by signing for the Blues in a deal that could net River Plate £22.5million.

City plan to loan him back to the Buenos Aires club until the summer.

Varas recalled: “Julian was always with a ball and even then he was like the person he is today – only in miniature.

“He is a very quiet person, very responsible and focused. Playing football has always been so natural to him.

“I remember one goal, when he was about eight or nine, when he beat four or five rivals and scored a rabona goal.

“That’s when I realised we had a different kind of player, who could be a world star.

“I was not his teacher. How can you teach a player like ­Julian? You can only advise.”

Varas was reduced to tears in the autumn of 2020 when Alvarez’s father turned up ­outside his house with the keys to a new van.

The striker had heard the car his former coach was ­driving to deliver groceries was not big enough – and he could now afford to ­provide a ­solution after emerging as a star at River Plate.

Alvarez is seen by many as the man to replace Aguero – and he is already a regular for Argentina.

Aguer