MANCHESTER CITY are close to agreeing a £70million deal with Atletico Madrid to sell Julian Alvarez.
Alvarez’s move to Madrid could open the door for Chelsea to sign striker Samu Omorodion from Diego Simone’s side.
Omorodion, valued at around £35m, will only be allowed to leave should a deal for Alvarez get over the line.
Atletico are heavily involved in the Premier League market this summer with Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher closing in on a move to the Spanish capital.
Gallagher’s move is being handled separately from any deal for Omorodion, who spent last season on loan with Deportivo Alaves, scoring nine goals.
Alvarez, 24, is keen for more regular game time with Erling Haaland ahead of him in the pecking order in Manchester.
The Argentine forward, who chipped in with 19 goals and 13 assists for City last season, has been publicly hinting at a move all summer.
City paid £14m to bring the striker to England from River Plate two years ago and stand to make a 400% profit.
Since joining the club he has won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, FA Cup, Uefa Super Cup, Club World Cup as well as the World Cup and Copa America with Argentina.
Alvarez has been competing with Argentina at the Olympics in Paris and raised questions over his future.
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He said: “There is a lot of talk.
“I am focused here because it is a short tournament.
“At Man City I feel very good, I played a lot of minutes.
“But we will see after the Games. First, if I can, I will take a few days off.
“Then we will decide. Maybe it’s annoying to be out in big games, players always want to help on the pitch. But my season was good, so I’m very happy.”
Pep Guardiola confirmed he intends to hold talks with Alvarez when the forward returns to City for pre-season.
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Chelsea are reportedly in talks with Napoli over the sale of Romelu Lukakau while Victor Osimhen could be going the other way on loan.
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