Reported Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur target Julian Alvarez maintained his thrilling form with four goals in River Plate’s 5-0 thrashing of CA Patronato yesterday, via La Pagina Millonaria.
Eyebrows were raised when the 21-year-old Argentina international was compared to Cristiano Ronaldo a couple of weeks ago.
But as Alvarez took his tally to 15 in 16 matches during a one-man dismantling of Patronato, it was impossible to escape the feeling we were witnessing a coming-of-age performance from one the world’s next superstar forwards.
Alvarez, who has been linked with a £22 million move to Premier League rivals Aston Villa and Tottenham while attracting interest from Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and AC Milan, scored a hat-trick against San Lorenzo in October (Calciomercato).
Last night, however, he went one better – three trademark poacher’s finishes following a goal that would have warmed the cockles of Spurs boss Antonio Conte, robbing the Patronato goalkeeper before tapping into the empty net.
Take a look at all four goals below.
Tottenham and Aston Villa target Julian Alvarez can’t stop scoring
“It’s difficult to determine when he clicked,” says River coach Marcelo Gallardo, clearly taken aback by Alvarez’s sudden emergence as a prolific goalscorer.
“He assimilated a lot of things for the moment he is in today, with a very good head and maturity, and a football and physical form that is great.
“He is a great example, not only for his teammates but also for young people. It makes me very happy, because he also has a lot ahead of him.”
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone highlighted Alvarez’s fearsome combination of “strength, speed and goals” when discussing the Copa America winner a few weeks ago. And every one of those attributes was on display as River put Patronato to the sword.
It’s understood Aston Villa, who have lost their last five Premier League games, sacking manager Dean Smith on Sunday, have been scouting Alvarez for the past ten months.
We’d assume they were supremely impressed by his most recent display.
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