Manchester City approach Barcelona target to renew contract until 2028

Over the past couple of days, rumours linking Manchester City starlet Julian Alvarez to FC Barcelona have been doing the rounds quite a bit.

Amidst this, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the reigning Premier League champions have tabled a contract offer for Alvarez.

The 23-year-old has been with Man City for a little over six months, having arrived at the club last summer from River Plate, even though he had signed back in January 2022 itself.

Alvarez had signed a contract until the summer of 2027 with Pep Guardiola’s side. However, City are now pushing to extend his deal by another year until 2028, with improved wages.

However, as per the report from Romano, there is still no green light from Alvarez and his entourage over the new contract. The striker, who played a key role in Argentina’s FIFA World Cup 2022 triumph in Qatar, will have to make a decision in the next few weeks.

Having won the World Cup, the 23-year-old is understood to be seeking an improved contract and Man City have responded with an offer, although there is no agreement at this point.

Apart from improvement in wages, Alvarez also wants to feel significant in terms of his role in the team, which has not happened thus far.

Indeed, Alvarez has had to play second-fiddle to Erling Haaland at the Etihad Stadium. While he has played 30 matches in all competitions, the centre-forward has started just six times in the Premier League.

Manchester City, for their part, consider Alvarez key for the present and the future and count on him. However, if there is no agreement over a new deal, the forward could pursue other options in the summer such as a loan exit.

Barcelona are monitoring Alvarez’s situation and have already made some enquiries to get an idea of things.

However, any move would depend on how the contract negotiations between Manchester City and Alvarez go on in the coming weeks.