River Plate attacker Julian Alvarez has rejected a move to MLS side Orlando City as talks over a move to Aston Villa continue.
That’s according to ESPN, who claim that Orlando offered $10million up front plus $2million in add-ons to sign Alvarez, taking the deal to around £8.5million.
However, Alvarez isn’t interested in a move to Major League Soccer right now and has rejected the move to Florida.
Alvarez prefers a move to Europe right now, and allegedly knows his agent is in talks over a move to join Aston Villa.
River want more than the fee offered by Orlando City anyway, so Villa know they will likely have to go north of £10million to land Alvarez.
River have already lost Rafael Santos Borre this summer and don’t want to lose Alvarez unless the deal is very appealing financially.
Alvarez’s contract ends in December 2022, so River are attempting talks over a deal to keep him beyond that date – but it looks a little unlikely.
The 21-year-old attacker, who can play all across the front line, has hit 16 goals and 17 assists in 74 games for River’s first team.
With fellow Argentinians Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia already at Villa Park, a move may well appeal to Alvarez – and Villa may have some Jack Grealish cash to spend soon.
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