For weeks, it has been seen as almost impossible for Barcelona to sign Julian Alvarez, given Atletico Madrid’s strong stance regarding a sale. However, this could become relaxed during the upcoming summer transfer window, with the player seemingly having set out his stall for his future.
It’s no secret that Barcelona have Alvarez as one of their leading targets. For months, he was the preferred candidate to replace the departing Robert Lewandowski, but because of Atleti making it clear that they have no plans to sell, they started to considering other options – namely Joao Pedro and Harry Kane.
But thing could be about to circle back to Alvarez, who is also being courted by Paris Saint-Germain. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Argentine striker has turned down the chance to sign a new Atleti contract, thus making it clear that he is open to leaving the Riyadh Air Metropolitano this summer.
Alvarez has yet to officially communicate to Atleti his stance ahead of the summer, but that is likely to happen before he joins up with Argentina for the World Cup. If he decides that an exit is in his best interest, it will give a lot of encouragement to the likes of Barcelona and PSG, who are currently the two favourites to sign him.
Alvarez would prefer to join Barcelona
Earlier in the week, it was reported that Alvarez would prefer to join Barcelona, if given the choice this summer. Should his agent tell the Catalans that a deal is possible this summer, it would give them a shot in the arm ahead of expected club-to-club talks.
It will be very interesting to see how Alvarez’s situation plays out over the coming weeks. Not much will happen during the World Cup, but Barcelona will be keen to position themselves for a move for when it can be done.
