River Plate are likely to accept a £15 million bid from Aston Villa for Julian Alvarez with the Argentina international potentially on his way to the Premier League, as reported by Ole.
With their rivals down the road scoffing pasteis de nata on the streets of Wolverhampton, are Aston Villa undergoing an Argentine revolution instead?
That may be going a bit far but, with Alvarez potentially set to join Emi Buendia and Emiliano Martinez at Villa Park, it’s probably time Dean Smith dusted off his Spanish dictionary as he prepares to bid “hola” to another exciting signing.
Calciomercato reported over the weekend that Aston Villa will hold talks with Alvarez’s agent this week.
The 20-year-old winger, who is currently playing for his country at Copa America, has his heart set on a move to Europe and is also on the radar of an Ajax side famous for enrolling some of the most exciting young talents in the game at its Johan Cruyff Arena finishing school.
Is Julian Alvarez heading to Aston Villa or Ajax?
Now, up-and-coming prospects don’t tend to stick around in Argentina for long.
And if River Plate hoped to put up a fight as the vultures start to circle, their stance has been weakened substantially by the ongoing pandemic, a factor that has hit their finances hard.
Selling Alvarez would go some way to easing those difficulties, especially if Aston Villa are willing to put £15 million on the table.
Alvarez has a £21.5 million release clause in his contract.
River Plate may hope Ajax and Aston Villa kick-start a bidding war, raising Alvarez’s price tag further. Should the youngster impress during Argentina’s Copa America campaign, that would do his already burgeoning reputation the world of good too.
Ole also backs up claims suggesting Aston Villa and Ajax will hold talks this week, with Alvarez’s agent expected to make the trip to Europe on Thursday.
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