Man City star has already shown Julian Alvarez how to overcome his biggest challenge

For the first time in a while, Manchester City fans can look forward to a new striker joining the club.

City are expected to announce the signing of Argentinian striker Julian Alvarez within the next few days, having agreed a £17.9m deal with River Plate.

The 21-year-old will stay in Argentina on loan until July at the earliest but, depending on River's progression in the Copa Libertadores, his arrival could be pushed back to November.

Regardless, after scoring 18 goals in 21 league appearances to fire River to the title last season, Alvarez sounds like he will be worth the wait.

Unfortunately though, some will inevitably doubt him because of where he is coming from.

Whether we care to admit it or not, there is an inherent snobbery in Europe - particularly Britain - when it comes to South American football.

The Argentinian and Brazilian top flights are home to some of the most successful and well-supported clubs in the world, yet they are often viewed as vastly inferior to even mid-table sides in Europe's top leagues.

In fairness, there is some logic behind it. There is nowhere near the amount of money in the game in South America as there is in Europe, meaning that the overall standard of the game is lower in some instances.

But the calls from some fans that City should not allow Alvarez to stay at River until the summer, and instead fly him over immediately to get him up to the required level, are disrespectful at best to a continent that has done just as much for football as Europe has.

Even if the jump from South American football to Premier League football was impossibly high, Gabriel Jesus has already shown Alvarez exactly how to navigate the transition.

City agreed a deal for the then-19-year-old with Brazilian