Chelsea’s Julian Alvarez transfer reality is clear amid £140m Man City truth

Chelsea will be hoping to make more marquee moves in this summer’s transfer window. The Blues spent big last summer with Moises Caicedo, Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer among those arriving through the doors at Stamford Bridge which saw just over £400million spent.

Despite another underwhelming season, numerous players have been linked to Chelsea with Benjamin Sesko, Ousmane Diomande and Crycensio Summerville among those. Manchester City ace Julian Alvarez is the latest big-name player of interest to the Blues with Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain also in the race.

The Argentine played a somewhat limited role in the second half of Man City’s fourth consecutive Premier League-winning campaign, though his importance to Pep Guardiola is still clear. As such, it would likely take a significant offer to even tempt Man City into selling Alvarez, but that fact is seemingly already known by Chelsea.

With all of that being said, football.london has taken a closer look at the chances of Alvarez actually joining the Blues.

Chelsea know Alvarez transfer reality

Man City have sold to their Premier League rivals on numerous occasions recently, with Chelsea often benefitting. The Blues have welcomed Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling in the last few transfer windows and therefore the possibility of that happening again, this time with Alvarez, cannot be ruled out.

With that in mind, Argentinian journalist Gaston Edul has revealed Chelsea are the Premier League club interested in Alvarez. French giants Paris Saint-Germain are also said to have made an enquiry.

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However, Guardiola could be far less likely to sanction a sale given the qualities Alvarez possesses and also how noticeable his absent would be from City’s squad.

football.london says: “This would be a marquee signing and then some by Chelsea. The 24-year-old still has four years remaining on his contract and thus it would take a sizeable fee.

“The west Londoners have been capable of finding such funds in the past however that may prove difficult this summer with concerns over breaking Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) very clear.

“City are unlikely to be open to sale as well which could see negotiations, if that point is even reached, become a challenge especially with Alvarez having a prominent role for the Premier League champions.”

£140m transfer truth

Man City paid just £14million for Alvarez in 2022 and in that time, Alvarez’s stock appears to have increased drastically. Earlier this month, CIES Football Observatories released their top 100 most valuable players in the world with Alvarez featuring in the top six.

Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka were all above Alvarez but the World Cup winner closely followed with €168.4million (£143.2m) revealed as his worth.

football.london says: “While not a true reflection of his actual monetary value, Man City becoming aware of that triple-figure sum may have reminded them of his importance to the team. Given his age and undeniable quality, in the current transfer landscape, he may actually be closer to that value than many think.

“Regardless of Man City’s actual asking price, it is highly unlikely Chelsea even get to that point with Alvarez arguably untouchable especially with the long-term future of star striker Erling Haaland mostly unknown.”