Barcelona to rival Real Madrid for Penarol striker Agustin Alvarez
By Tom Gott
Barcelona have joined Real Madrid in pursuit of 20-year-old Penarol forward Agustin Alvarez, who is expected to be among the next budding talents to swap South America for Europe.
Alvarez has 23 goals and five assists in 40 appearances for Penarol in 2021, with that form earning him a call-up to the Uruguay national team in September.
AS revealed shortly after his international debut that Real are keeping a close eye on Alvarez, who has been compared to Edinson Cavani. He comes with a €20m release clause and Penarol expect plenty of interest when he does eventually leave.
With Real still watching on, Mundo Deportivo state Barcelona have thrown their hat into the ring and are looking at striking a deal worth around the €12m mark.
That's obviously a lot of money for a Barcelona side in such a financial hole, and some at Camp Nou are reluctant to take risks on young players like Alvarez who have no experience in a top European league, but others believe that is exactly the kind of talent the club should be looking at.
The likes of Pedri, who came from the Spanish second tier, and Uruguay native Ronald Araujo are among Barcelona's top performers now and some scouts believe teaching younger players the Barcelona way is easier than trying to add more experienced names.
It's for that reason that the club's recruitment department have set up shop in South America, where countless names are finding themselves linked to Camp Nou.
Alongside Alvarez, River Plate de Montevideo's 19-year-old striker Matias Arezo has played his way onto Barcelona's radar, as has 21-year-old Julian Alvarez of the Argentinian River Plate.
Of the three, it's Julian who is attracting the most interest. Barcelona are there, as are Real, but there are also eyes on the River man from Juventus, Inter, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Bayer Leverkusen, among others.