Man City eye classy Tottenham target as Julian Alvarez replacement as TWO key reasons behind Etihad exit emerge

Man City have identified Wolves forward and Tottenham Hotspur target Pedro Neto as a potential replacement for Julian Alvarez, it has been claimed.

It comes as fresh details behind Alvarez ‘s decision to leave the reigning Premier League champions have come to light, with two key factors behind the Argentine’s impending departure.

Alvarez is poised to complete a move to Atletico Madrid after the LaLiga giants agreed a €95million (£82m) fee with Man City – a significant profit on the £14million the Citizens paid River Plate to bring the forward to England in January 2022.

The 24-year-old, who has agreed personal terms with Atletico, will leave Man City having registered 36 goals and 18 assists in 103 appearances, winning two Premier League titles as well as the FA Cup, the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup.

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With Brazilian winger Savinho still City’s only new signing during the summer window to date, Alvarez’s exit is likely to force Pep Guardiola to add more attacking reinforcements to his squad.

And a report by the Telegraph has claimed that Portuguese international Neto “is one of the players to have interested City” as the club scout the market.

The news of City’s interest in Neto is likely to come as a blow to Tottenham and Arsenal after TEAMtalk exclusively revealed last month that the North London rivals are both keen on the Wolves forward.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano issued an update on Neto’s situation last weekend, with Tottenham expected to “accelerate” their attempts to sign the 24-year-old, who has registered 14 goals and 24 assists for Wolves since arriving from Braga in 2019.

Gary O’Neil, the Wolves manager, recently admitted that “no one is going to stand in Pedro’s way if a massive bid comes from a top club.”

It is believed that a bid in the region of £60m would tempt Wolves to sell the player, with the competition to secure Neto’s signature likely to intensify ahead of the transfer deadline on August 30.

Revealed: Julian Alvarez reasons behind Man City exit

Meanwhile, Football Insider has claimed that a hunger for more first-team football, as well as desire to play in a warmer climate, contributed to Alvarez’s push to leave Man City.

It is said that Alvarez had grown frustrated with Guardiola’s tendency to leave him out of the team for big matches and was set on a move to Europe, with the 2022 World Cup winner having no interest in joining another Premier League club.

Although it is believed that Guardiola had been hopeful of keeping Alvarez, the manager’s policy of allowing unhappy players to leave meant a Man City exit was inevitable as soon as the player signalled his intention to leave.

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