Last season, Julian Alvarez was the fourth player with the most minutes spent on the bench in the Premier League. It wasn't until Erling Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne were unable to play that Alvarez was given a new opportunity. Understanding this, Alvarez chose to leave Etihad after having won numerous titles.
Many titles are one thing, but in practice on the pitch, when playing as a substitute for Haaland and De Bruyne, Alvarez performed very well. Therefore, Atletico Madrid invested up to 95 million Euros in this transfer. With a player who has been successfully developed at Man City, who can play both the "number 9" and "number 10" positions, Atletico will have more options from next season.
Pep Guardiola was successful with the "virtual number 9" formation, but when Erling Haaland was present, this style of play was very difficult to implement because Haaland could not play well when operating outside the penalty area. To dominate the opponent, Pep once pushed John Stones up high to limit Haaland's need to play deep.
When Stones suffered an injury in the middle of last season, Pep was often at a loss. However, when Haaland was injured, he filled the position with Alvarez. With the ability to play wide and deep, Alvarez balanced the Man City lineup as Pep intended.
Regarding the threat to the opponent's penalty area, Alvarez was far behind Haaland. However, when needed a player to connect for clever passes before the opponent's penalty area, Alvarez performed better than his Norwegian teammate. Pep needed a player who could do the same, and the first name mentioned was Phil Foden.
Last season, Foden was often played in the "number 10" position due to De Bruyne's injury. Foden's performance showed that he was ready to do so again many times from the 2024-2025 season. Additionally, when playing with Alvarez, Foden tended to drift to the right, although reluctantly, he still performed well.
Pep Guardiola has added Savinho and Oscar Bobb. These two stars have performed well in the preseason. James McAtee is also mentioned as a factor when Pep himself said that this player would be part of the first team. When closing the Savinho deal, Pep understood that as long as the core players stayed, he would not need to make any further signings after selling Alvarez.
Julian Alvarez is the player who brought in the most revenue in Manchester City's history on the transfer market. With 95 million Euros from Atletico Madrid, The Citizens have the ability to return to negotiations with Newcastle for Bruno Guimaraes. Pep wants to have the Brazilian star to support and gradually replace Rodri.
In Pep Guardiola's current team, there are still some players who have been given the opportunity to showcase themselves in the 2024-2025 season, such as Matheus Nunes and Kalvin Phillips. Although they cannot replace Rodri's role, when the opportunity is presented, everyone needs to seize it to secure a position in the team that is already full of stars at Man City.
