Alexander Isak, Lois Openda and the forwards Man City should target to replace Julian Alvarez as Erling Haaland's ideal back-up

The gangly Swedish striker became Newcastle's record signing when he switched from Real Sociedad to Tyneside for £63m ($80m) in the summer of 2022. But he could have joined City, as Pep Guardiola later revealed he was on the club's radar while still in Spain.

Isak has kept getting better, scoring 35 goals in all competitions with Newcastle, leaving Guardiola in awe. "We started to follow him at Real Sociedad. We were impressed. He was a target," the Catalan revealed last season.

"Wow. He is a young player but with these skills. All the clubs around the world take a look. It is not a surprise and he's adapted really well here in the Premier League."

Isak, 25, would make a perfect replacement for Alvarez, and although he would cost a lot, he would be a formidable stand-in for Haaland and could even play alongside him.

City are well aware of Openda's capabilities as a striker after he scored three times against them in the Champions League last season. The goals were no fluke, as the 24-year-old struck 28 times in all competitions, finishing as the third-top scorer in the Bundesliga.

Openda became RB Leipzig's record signing when he joined from Lens for €45m (£38m/$49m) and they would be reluctant to let him go. However, the Germans have long been a selling club and would surely part with him if City could offer them a tidy profit, funded by the Alvarez cash.

Wirtz is more of a No.10 than a centre-forward, but Alvarez often had to perform as a second striker for City so his replacement should also be able to play in both roles.

Wirtz was the standout performer for Xabi Alonso's incredible Bayer Leverkusen side last season, scoring 15 times and setting up another 15 goals for his team-mates. He is valued at more than £100m, which would make him City's record signing, but he could be more than worth it as a replacement not just for Alvarez, but also for De Bruyne, who looks set for his final season with the Cityzens.

The Nigerian striker was the fifth-leading scorer in Europe when he fired Napoli to the Serie A title in 2022-23, but his relationship with the club has since soured and for some time he has been looking for a way out. Napoli were holding out for a huge transfer fee, but have since dropped their asking price to €100m (£85m/$110m), which is now within City's reach after the Alvarez deal.

Osimhen, 25, would want to be the main man at his next club, which could be an obstacle to him joining City, where Haaland is very much first-choice. But he would also be practically guaranteed silverware at the Etihad Stadium and City could not ask for a better back-up in the event the Norwegian got injured.

Canadian hitman David would guarantee goals for City, having struck 55 times in all competitions across the last two seasons for Lille.

LOSC has proved to be an excellent platform for players looking for a move to one of Europe's top clubs in recent times, with Rafael Leao, Nicolas Pepe, Sven Botman, Garbiel Magalhaes, Osimhen and, most recently, Leny Yoro attracting huge transfer fees within the last two years.

They could soon be in a hurry to sell David before he runs into the final year of his contract, which would allow City to negotiate a lower fee.

Boniface averaged a goal or an assist in every single one of his appearances in the Bundesliga last season, while also being Leverkusen's leading scorer in all competitions - and that was despite him missing more than three months due to injury.

The 23-year-old is one of the cheaper options out there, valued at around £35m ($44m). That would mean City could replace Alvarez with a mobile and selfless striker and still have around £50m ($64m) to spend elsewhere on their squad.

France striker Thuram can operate as a lone centre-forward, but works best in a front two, which would allow him to play in tandem with Haaland as well as step in for him when he needs a rest or is injured.

Thuram's strike rate is not as prolific as some of the other names on the list, but he is a highly productive provider of assists, chipping in with 14 last season to complement his tally of 15 goals for Inter. The 27-year-old is rated at around £55m ($70m), meaning he would be easily affordable.

As City scour the market for an Alvarez replacement, they may as well look to the very same source where they unearthed 'The Spider' back at the start of 2022. Ruberto is following the same early footsteps that Alvarez took, starring for River Plate and Argentina at youth level.

Ruberto finished as top scorer at the Under-17 World Cup last year with a stunning seven goals, and soon after he scored his first goal for River's first team.

He has a long way to go before he could realistically be seen as a City player, but the club would be well-advised to do what they did with both Alvarez and Claudio Echeverri and tie the youngster down to a future at the Etihad Stadium.

City signed the latest player to be dubbed as the next Lionel Messi in January before loaning him back to River Plate in a remarkably similar approach to the one they took with Alvarez.

Echeverri will not be immediately replacing his compatriot as he is set to stay at River for this season as well, but it will not be long before he is the latest Argentine star to grace the Etihad Stadium. If he lives up to the hype, City might be better off saving their money for what is likely to be a bigger rebuild next summer.