Erling Haaland might be the name grabbing the headlines so far this season, but in his shadow Julian Alvarez has quietly been going about his business at Manchester City - and impressing while doing so.
Alvarez arrived at City this summer after the Blues agreed a deal to sign him for £14m back in January, and while he's only started one game for Pep Guardiola's side, he has impressed both supporters and his manager whenever he's had the chance.
The 22-year-old striker got his City career off to a dream start when he scored in the Community Shield defeat to Liverpool back in August, before scoring a brace as he played the full 90 minutes of a 6-0 rout of Nottingham Forest a few weeks later.
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Much was made before the start of the season about how Guardiola would fit both Alvarez and Haaland into the same team. While it's clear that Haaland is the undisputed starting striker, matches such as the home defeat of Borussia Dortmund have shown that the two can play in tandem.
It's not just Guardiola who has been impressed though; Alvarez's compatriot and City club legend Sergio Aguero is a big fan of the youngster. The two briefly played together for Argentina, and Aguero has kept tabs on Alvarez since.
Now, Aguero has had his say on how Guardiola can get the best out of his exciting striking talent. In a recent interview with CityTV, Alvarez was shown a clip of Aguero assessing the 22-year-old's start to life at City.
"He's [Alvarez] seriously good," said Aguero. "He plays with more freedom up front. I'd give him freedom to roam if it was me, to get in there and cause trouble. I'd let him play free."
That's probably unrealistic given the demands of Guardiola's system, but regardless, Alvarez agreed that he is at his best when moving around the forward line.
"I've always played in different positions across the forward line. I can play on the wings, nearer to the middle, or roam across all three like he did. I've done that all my life, moving across the forward positions in attack," Alvarez said.
"I learned a lot from being with him, he would give me a lot of advice and I wanted to take on the best aspects he had."
Alvarez will be hoping to see some minutes on the pitch against Manchester United on Sunday, having enjoyed a successful international break. El Arana scored in Argentina's 3-0 defeat of Jamaica this week, with two Lionel Messi goals completing the win.
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