Atletico president rates chances of signing Chelsea target Julian Alvarez

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo admits he does not expect to see Manchester City part ways with striker Julian Alvarez this summer.

Several reports have suggested Alvarez has grown frustrated by his role as Erling Haaland's understudy at City, with Atletico often named as suitors for the Argentina international alongside Chelsea.

But despite mounting speculation about imminent bids for Alvarez's services, Cerezo insists he expects the 24-year-old to remain with his current club.

"Julian Alvarez is a Manchester City player, and I don’t think he’s going to move from there," Cerezo told UnoTV.

Alvarez still has four years left to run on his contract at the Etihad Stadium, so City are under no pressure to part ways with the striker.

City boss Pep Guardiola has always insisted any unhappy players are free to leave the club, but only if a suitable offer for their services is submitted.

Reports suggest it would take a fee of €80m (£68m) to convince City to part ways with Alvarez, who would also have to voice his desire to leave the club for the Premier League champions to take any interest seriously.

Despite claims of his frustration, Alvarez did manage 54 appearances in all competitions last season - the most of any City player - including 39 starts as Guardiola often found a way to include him in a deeper midfield role.

He featured just 12 times in the Premier League in his favoured striker role, largely during Haaland's injury absence, but still ended the campaign with an impressive 11 goals and nine assists.

Bayern Munich have previously been linked with Alvarez, prior to their signing of Harry Kane, and Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona have also been mentioned as potential destinations should a City exit ever come to fruition.

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