Chelsea 'ready bid' for Man City striker Julian Alvarez

Chelsea are reported to be readying a bid for Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez, who is growing frustrated with his role at the Etihad Stadium.

Alvarez, 24, arrived at City in the summer of 2022 but has spent the majority of his tenure playing around Erling Haaland, either coming off the bench or dropping deeper into a midfield role behind the Norway international.

According to Argentine media outlet TyC Sports, Alvarez is not happy with his current role and is exploring his options in the summer transfer window.

It is stressed that his preferred outcome would be becoming a guaranteed starter with City, but with that looking unlikely with Haaland around, a number of clubs are preparing to test the Premier League champions' resolve over Alvarez.

Chelsea are said to be readying a bid, while Atletico Madrid are known admirers and Paris Saint-Germain have added Alvarez's name to the list of potential replacements for Kylian Mbappe, who has officially departed for Real Madrid.

City have made it clear that they do not want to sell Alvarez but have placed a price tag of €80m (£68m) on the 24-year-old's head - their stance under Pep Guardiola has always been that any unhappy player will be allowed to move on if the conditions of a deal suit all parties.

Alvarez's former side River Plate are also entitled to a share of any future fee.

Eagle-eyed Blues fans have seen midfielder Enzo Fernandez post a number of photos alongside Alvarez on social media in recent days, with the duo, who played together in Argentina for River, currently away preparing for this summer's Copa America.

Alvarez will then take part in this summer's Olympic Games, having urged Guardiola to let him feature at the tournament as part of his quest to find more minutes.