Wunderkids: Building football’s most exciting young XI - Julian Alvarez, striker

WunderkidsBBC Sport

It is the stuff of management dreams - a blank cheque to build the most exciting young starting XI in world football.

Well that is exactly what a new BBC Sounds podcast - Wunderkids - is aiming to do over its 11 episodes and the first one is available to listen to now.

The Wunderkids team, in conjunction with BBC Sport, have come up with 11 players and each week presenter Steve Crossman will be joined by experts to discuss the latest inclusion, with one new player revealed each week.

The criteria are simple - each player must be young and with the potential to become the next superstar in their position.

But we are not going for the obvious names - the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Erling Braut Haaland or Jadon Sancho - we are looking at the players who are on the verge of making the breakthrough into the big time.

In the first episode, the focus is on the position of striker and the first name on the teamsheet is new Manchester City signing Julian Alvarez.

Who is he?

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Alvarez's finest moment in a River Plate shirt came when he scored twice against Boca Juniors in October

An Argentina striker at Manchester City? That sounds familiar.

Six months after Sergio Aguero's departure prompted much talk of the champions' need for a replacement central striker, Pep Guardiola completed the £14m signing of Alvarez in January.

The 21-year-old arrived from Argentine side River Plate but was immediately loaned back, meaning he will not appear for City until next season at the earliest.

Alvarez is predominantly a striker, who has scored 23 goals in 57 league games, but can also play out wide.

He made his debut for Argentina in 2021 and has since won six caps for his country.

What does the expert say?

Tim Vickery, South American football expert

"River Plate have had the same coach since 2014, Marcelo Gallardo, and in South America, having the same coach for going into an eighth year just doesn't happen. They have a coach with a long-term project, and Alvarez is the absolute jewel in the crown of that project.

"There was a huge game between River Plate and Boca Juniors [in the 2018 Copa Libertadores final], probably the biggest one in history and one that will never be forgotten. Alvarez, as an 18-year-old, came off the bench in that game. That is a huge declaration of faith and it is clear he is pure class. Even then with River, they brought him on slow and gave him a game here and there off the bench. Gallardo knew exactly what he was doing with this player.

"Even up until February 2021 he was not an automatic first choice, he played sometimes and had some great games but they have brought him on slowly. It was only after they sold Colombia striker Rafael Santos Borre that he was in the first team. He was then undisputed first choice.

"He is a combination player, he is a collective player. He is a striker with the soul of a midfielder, that makes him Manchester City all over. He is so talented and so versatile. If City needed an orthodox penalty box striker, that is not the player he is. But he is good enough for that because he is quick and technically good and will bang them in right foot and left foot.

"He is an all-round footballer and I don't think there is anyone I have enjoyed watching in South America more in the past year or so. Like Aguero created wonderful memories, this is what Alvarez can do for City.

"Where can he go? Well he is already pretty much at the top of the global food chain at Manchester City. Now it is just a question of whether he can bed in."

What does the fan say?

Andres Bruckner, contributor to the Hand of Pod, an Argentine football podcast.

"What makes Alvarez a special talent is he's a goalscorer, but he can also play in different positions in attack. He is really, really complete.

"When River won the league [last year] and he was top scorer with 18 goals, I knew that was the moment he would leave. My favourite memory of him is when River beat Boca 2-1 and he scored two goals."

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