As River Plate star Julian Alvarez continues being linked with an Aston Villa move, we get interesting updates coming from the South American media.
One of the stories comes from outlet El Intransigente, and details the race which is being formed for the 21-year-old.
The outlet claims that Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan have been sending emissaries to watch the player. Now these clubs are joined by the likes of Ajax and Aston Villa.
Regarding the Premier League side, it’s said they already acted in the summer window and were willing to pay over US$15m (£11m) for the striker. The operation, however, did not advance.
With Alvarez still doing great, having scored five goals in his last two games, it’s said Aston Villa still seem ‘willing to fight for the River jewel’s signing’.
Their story claims that Alvarez is protected by a release clause of US$25m (£18m), but since his contract expires at the end of 2022, then River would accept negotiating from US$15m (£11m), although the number of interested sides would certainly raise his price.
However, a lot may happen before the clubs finally go for the striker. Because according to ESPN Argentina, River Plate are already planning to extend Alvarez’s contract.
The idea is to add one further year, changing the expiration date to December 2023, and raising the release clause to US$35m (£25m). However, that’s still an idea, and the player and his representative would need to agree to it.