Where Man City transfer target Julian Alvarez will fit in to Pep Guardiola's team

No doubt, if Manchester City complete the signing of Julian Alvarez, the same tired old Blue cliches will be trotted out again.

City buying titles, City acquiring players to stop other clubs having them, City spending money for the sake of it, because they can.

And if the deal gets over the line, which could well be this week unless something dramatic happens, the fact that it will not make a jot of difference to their pursuit of a big-name, big-money striker in the summer, will set them all off again.

Alvarez has already been tagged as the “new Sergio Aguero”. It was inevitable - he is 5ft 7ins, explosive, scores goals and is Argentinian.

But he is most definitely NOT the replacement for Aguero that the Blues were seeking last summer, and will pick up again in the next transfer window.

If anything, he will, if he impresses enough when he arrives, be more of a straight swap for Ferran Torres, a player who can play in any of the front three roles.

But it is unclear when he will actually join up with the Blues, as the plan is to loan him straight back to River Plate as and when the £17.9million deal goes through.

The start of his City career is uncertain, as it depends on his progress, and on his club’s performance in the Copa Libertadores.

Alvarez is expected to come to Manchester in July if River are already out of the South American version of the Champions League, and that would be ideal for Pep Guardiola.

He would get the chance to take a good look at him in pre-season, and plot out his future from there - whether that is with his first-team squad or out on loan.

If River do go deep in the competition, Alvarez would not be available until November - and that would mean he would not be able to play until the January