‘Amazed if City don’t spend’ – but youngsters can ease Alvarez loss

How do you replace a World Cup winner?

That might soon be the puzzle for Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, with Argentina forward Julian Alvarez on the verge of making an £81.5m move to Atletico Madrid.

However, on Saturday at Wembley in the Community Shield against Manchester United, we may have seen a few clues as to why City are prepared to let 24-year-old Alvarez leave.

A largely youthful City team secured a 7-6 success on penalties after the game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes.

City’s side included 21-year-old winger Oscar Bobb and inexperienced midfielders James McAtee, 21, and 19-year-old Nico O’Reilly.

Twenty-year-old Brazilian winger Savinho, who only joined City last month, made an impressive cameo as a substitute for the last 30 minutes.

Guardiola was full of his praise for his youngsters.

“They have the standards to be here,” said the Spaniard.

“I’ve known it, especially for McAtee, for a long time ago and he played really good and Oscar we saw last season.

“They have the confidence, the squad adore them and can rely on them. Oscar made a fantastic game, like he has done all pre-season, and McAtee was what we want him to be.”

Guardiola said O’Reilly is a player who is “so clever, so good” and said the match would be a “good experience for him”.

Norwegian midfielder Bobb, whose talent has been nurtured in City’s academy, played 26 senior games in all competitions last season, including two starts in the Premier League.

City were on the verge of losing for a fourth successive year in the Community Shield – the match that traditionally is contested by the league champions and FA Cup winners.

Alejandro Garnacho, who scored in United’s 2-1 FA Cup final win over City, netted again at Wembley in the 82nd minute before Bobb showed great skill to create space and cross for Bernardo Silva to head an 89th-minute equaliser.

“It’s a great feeling, first time we have won it in three, four years and to do it with a young group is great,” said Bobb. “We had belief all the way through. We kept going, didn’t get too downbeat.”

Former England striker Ian Wright, speaking on ITV, called Bobb “one of the most exciting youngsters in the game” and added: “When he gets it under control, he goes from zero to very quick.

“He was the one that was committing people and anything really positive was coming from Bobb.

“When you get someone who wants to take players on, it gets people off their seat.”

Alvarez joined City in January 2022 in a £14m deal from River Plate, although he remained with the Argentine side for the rest of that season.

He was worth the wait for City, scoring 20 goals in 67 Premier League matches, helping them to the Premier League title in both of his full seasons.

However, Alvarez, who also won the Champions League, FA Cup, Uefa Super Cup and Club World Cup with City, was sometimes left out because of the relentless goalscoring form of team-mate Erling Haaland.

“I would be staggered if Manchester City don’t replace Alvarez with an out-and-out striker,” added ex-Scotland forward Ally McCoist on ITV. “You can’t go into the season with just one available.”

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane took a similar view, saying: “There are certain deals that suit all parties. Atletico are getting a great player in Julian Alvarez; Man City are getting a good profit, so it works for everybody.

“I’d still be amazed if Man City don’t go out and spend that money on a striker.”

City gave a competitive debut to their latest signing, Brazil winger Savinho, who moved from French side Troyes in a deal worth £30.8m last month.

He came on for Jeremy Doku in the 63rd minute and made an instant impact with a jinking run, before he had a shot saved moments later and almost found Haaland following another dribble.

Guardiola liked what he saw from his latest signing.

“He made a good impact playing both sides. On the left he has incredible quality attacking the byline,” Guardiola said.

“Always with wingers, if you have the confidence, attack the defenders. He did really well for 35 minutes.

“I saw many things I liked from my team.”

City have won the Premier League title four years in a row and again will be the team to beat in 2024-25.

They have now won a remarkable 18 trophies since Guardiola joined in 2016 – six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, the Champions League, the Uefa Super Cup, the Club World Cup and now three Community Shields.