With Julian Alvarez again being linked to Liverpool, we spoke to La Liga commentator Rob Palmer to learn more about the Atletico Madrid striker and how he could fit into Arne Slot‘s squad.
Speculation has hovered over the clubs since March that Liverpool have shown interest in signing Alvarez and, last week, his manager at Atletico, Diego Simeone, confirmed to La Nacion that the Reds “want him.”
Recently, Darwin Nunez has also been mooted to be going in the opposite direction, though there is no suggestion of this being anywhere close to a done deal, with several other clubs, notably Napoli, also reportedly wanting the Uruguayan.
Here, we spoke to La Liga commentator Rob Palmer (@robbopalmer on X) about what Julian Alvarez would bring to Liverpool.
Why might Liverpool be interested in Julian Alvarez?
He is a very good player, he was a co-star at Man City; Erling Haaland was very much the headline star there and he was one of the acts.
He’s gone to Atletico for an initial £64.4 million, plus £17.1m in potential add-ons, which seems way above their normal budget and probably more than what we would have expected him to leave Man City for.
But, when you look at his CV, he’s won the league, the FA Cup and the Champions League with Man City. He’s won the Copa America, he’s won the World Cup. The guy’s only just turned 25 years of age, he is a serial winner!
His stats in an above-average team, a team that’s not fighting for the title, are remarkable.
He would fit a club like Liverpool, he’s got the credentials. An Argentine international, World Cup winner, the centre-forward of Argentina certainly would be a player that could possibly improve the Liverpool first team.
There aren’t many that could improve Liverpool’s best starting XI that Arne Slot has got at the moment, but he is one that could be the man.
What are Julian Alvarez’s strengths?
It is his versatility. At Atletico Madrid, he tends to be the line leader.
At the start of the season, they tried various formations. Believe it or not, they went to a revolutionary 4-4-2. They went back to old school and that brought them a lot of success.
In a word, what he brings to any team is versatility and goals. He always brings goals.
• READ HERE: Julian Alvarez Liverpool transfer interest ‘confirmed’ by Diego Simeone
Which positions has he played for Atletico Madrid?
He was one of the two up front and at the time he was playing with Antoine Griezmann, and Griezmann is an out and out kind of second striker.
So Alvarez was doing a lot of the workload, covering a lot of the yards, closing down defenders and you have to play like that when you play for Atletico Madrid. Simeone’s players are absolute workaholics.
So he was doing that and he was getting a return on goals as well in a team that doesn’t score an awful lot of goals.
It’s crazy when you look at his CV and everything he’s done. He’s never really been a headline-maker, but they have depended on his goals this season.
They have kind of run out of steam towards the end of the season in Europe and in La Liga as well, but he’s one of those guys who have been getting 8, 8.5, 9 out of 10 on a good day pretty much every game that he’s played this season.
Also, they’ve had this tendency, Atletico Madrid, to keep him on the field but then to bring this giant on called Alexander Sorloth, a Norwegian guy who is about 6’4″.
He tends to come on for the last 15 or 20 minutes and then he (Alvarez) has to flip his style of play completely again.
Have you any concerns over Julian Alvarez?
You know, I don’t think there are a lot of negatives.
All of his strengths are his strengths; he’s not lightning quick but he’s quick; he isn’t dominant in the air but he scores a lot of headers, I think I’m right in saying; he shoots and scores with both feet.
To play for Atletico, you have to be a pressing striker. You go back to the old days and Ian Rush was always Liverpool’s best defender because that’s where the line of defence started, up front, so he’s that kind of player.
The only negative for me is that his price might be out of the range that they have in the budget.
Why would Julian Alvarez fit in at Liverpool?
Alvarez was a very good player but he was never the big attraction at Man City, and if anybody was to lose out and maybe play out of position to accommodate Haaland, then it would be Alvarez.
If he came back to the Premier League and Liverpool have paid £90 million for him, he’s going to be the main man.
He’s not the kind of player who seems to have an ego and insists that the ball comes to him and they have to play around him.
He’s a team player, which is what this new manager is all about, isn’t he?
I think he would bring a focal point. He has got a point to prove and he is that right age now at 25 years old.
* Thanks to Rob Palmer for the lowdown on Alvarez. You can follow Rob on X @robbopalmer.
