Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement to sell Julian Alvarez to Arsenal before the summer transfer window closes, but the Argentina international striker remains determined to sign for Barcelona instead, according to reports from Mundo Deportivo.
The 26-year-old, who previously played for Manchester City in the Premier League, has been identified as a dream signing by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who has personally reached out to Alvarez to try to convince him to return to English football. However, Alvarez has publicly expressed his preference for a move to Barcelona, revealing his hopes of joining the Catalan club during the World Cup.
Atletico's refusal to deal with Barcelona
Barcelona have repeatedly angered Atletico Madrid with their pursuit of Alvarez, and Diego Simeone's side are determined not to do business with their La Liga rivals. Atletico have already rejected an opening bid of €100 million (£86.4 million) from Barcelona. Atletico do not want to engage in any transfer negotiations with Barcelona this summer and would prefer to keep Alvarez at all costs.
However, reports have indicated that Atletico would demand up to €150 million (£130 million) if forced to let the striker go. With Atletico's La Liga campaign set to begin on Sunday against Villarreal, Mundo Deportivo reports that the situation has reached an 'untenable' stage.
Alvarez's stance and Arsenal's offer
Despite Atletico's agreement to enter transfer negotiations with Arsenal, Alvarez's position has not changed. He remains determined to move to the Camp Nou. With just over a week remaining in the summer transfer window, Atletico would also face the difficult task of finding a replacement for Alvarez.
Reports in Spain have suggested that Arsenal would be willing to include their striker Victor Gyokeres plus €60 million (£51.7 million) in a deal to solve Atletico's need for a replacement. As it stands, Atletico's management has agreed to negotiate only with Arsenal, not with Barcelona, as a condition of any potential sale.
Simeone's public stance
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has publicly reiterated the club's firm stance leading into the new season. 'The situation is very clear, the club made a decision that Miguel Angel [Gil Marin] explained very well,' Simeone said last week. 'From the sporting side, we are very happy to have a player like Julian, and from a sporting perspective we will help him to continue growing, to continue improving, and to give us back what he has given us over these two years, which was a great deal.'
Simeone also drew a parallel to a previous situation: 'We have some precedents, we already saw what happened with Griezmann, I don't see any other way than to work from a sporting perspective as we have to and try to help as we have done these past two years.'
