Following a recent agreement with Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon, Barcelona is reportedly gearing up for another significant transfer move. The club’s focus has now shifted to Atletico Madrid’s star player, Julian Alvarez, a name that has been consistently linked with the Catalan giants for some time.
Alvarez, a 26-year-old forward, has been a priority target for Barcelona for the past year, envisioned as a potential replacement for Robert Lewandowski. It is understood that the Argentine forward has now expressed his desire to leave Atletico Madrid, with Barcelona reportedly being his preferred destination above all other clubs. However, Atletico Madrid is proving reluctant to sell, allegedly seeking an offer in the region of €150 million. It is worth noting that Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal are also reportedly interested in acquiring Alvarez.
According to reports from Sport, Barcelona is preparing to submit a €90 million offer for Alvarez. This follows a meeting with the player’s agents. Unlike the Gordon deal, which is believed to be nearly finalized, the pursuit of Alvarez is anticipated to be a protracted negotiation due to Atletico Madrid’s valuation. The meeting between Barcelona’s Sporting Director and agent Fernando Hidalgo reportedly lasted over four hours.
This information is also supported by Marca. Furthermore, MD reports that Deco, Barcelona’s Sporting Director, also held extensive discussions with Juanma Lopez, the agent representing Joan Garcia and Dani Olmo, on Wednesday. At present, Barcelona is not planning to include any players in their offer. However, Lopez, who played for Atletico Madrid for a decade during his career, might play a role in the ongoing negotiations.
Barcelona’s aggressive stance in the transfer market comes as something of a surprise, even with previous indications that they would aim to sign at least one major player to replace Robert Lewandowski and that they would operate under the ‘1:1 rule’. This rule, however, merely permits teams to reinvest money saved or earned from player departures. If the Catalan club has not managed to significantly reduce their wage bill this summer, substantial player sales might be necessary to register both Gordon and potentially Alvarez.
