The agent of reported Aston Villa January transfer target, Julian Alvarez, has recently visited England.

What's been said?

In a recent interview with Argentinian media outlet Ole, the River Plate vice-president, Jorge Brito, revealed that the 21-year-old's representatives recently travelled to England amid the striker's links with a move to Aston Villa.

Indeed, a recent report by the same publication revealed that Villa have been monitoring the situation of the Argentina international ahead of the January transfer window, while the likes of AC Milan, Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur are also believed to hold an interest in the striker - who is thought to have a £21.5m release clause in his River Plate contract.

Speaking about the interest surrounding Alvarez, Brito said: "The objective, now his representatives have returned from England, is to talk to reach a good agreement and that Julian stays."

Gerrard's next Morelos

It is easy to see why Villa, as well as a number of Europe's other leading clubs, are keeping a very close eye on Alvarez, as the centre-forward has been in remarkable form for River Plate so far this season.

Indeed, over his 16 Liga Profesional appearances in the current campaign, the £18m-rated man has scored a whopping 15 goals, registered five assists and created eight big chances for his teammates - averaging a rather incredible 1.25 direct goal contributions per game.

These returns have seen the player who Golazo Argentino dubbed a "phenomenon" average an extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.84, ranking him by far and away as the best performer in the top flight of Argentine football.

Furthermore, Steven Gerrard has already proven he can get the best out of a South American centre-forward in the UK, with Colombia international Alfredo Morelos scoring 83 goals and registering 37 assists over his 158 appearances - an average of 0.76 direct goal contributions per game - under the 41-year-old at Rangers.

As such, it would appear highly advisable for Christian Purslow to do all he can to secure the signing of Alvarez this January, as the 21-year-old very much appears to possess the potential to become Gerrard's next Morelos at Villa Park.

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