Barcelona will look to again up the signing of Anthony Gordon by making a renewed push for Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez.
The Spanish champions may full a transfer for Gordon as we speak with a price of £69.3million agreed with Newcastle and private phrases already negotiated with the England worldwide.
Barca’s move for Gordon comes as a surprise given the size of the deal for a player who is unlikely to improve their best XI, however the pursuit of Alvarez makes full sense.
Hansi Flick wants a world-class quantity 9 to reinforce an already spectacular squad that dominated domestically however didn’t win the Champions League for an eleventh successive season.
The German has utilised Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres within the position over the previous 9 months however the former is leaving on the finish of his contract whereas doubts stay over the latter’s capability to chop it on the highest stage.
Julian Alvarez: the Atletico Madrid striker Barcelona need earlier than the World Cup
The identical accusation can’t be levelled at Alvarez, who helped Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
The Atletico Madrid striker has been Barca’s first alternative for a number of months and a deal seems to be edging nearer after the participant’s agent met with the Catalans’ sporting director Deco yesterday, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Barca need the deal closed by the point the World Cup begins on June 11 to keep away from a prolonged cleaning soap opera that would derail their different summer time plans and, despite the fact that Atletico are reluctant to promote, there’s an acceptance on the Metropolitano that the 26-year-old will transfer on.
The participant’s consultant Fernando Hidalgo mentioned a cope with Deco with the looks of Juanma Lopez within the assembly additionally believed to be influential.
Lopez is a former Atletico Madrid player-turned-agent and retains shut ties together with his previous membership. He has present Barca gamers Joan Garcia and Dani Olmo on his books and his position is believed to be one in every of mediator between the 2 La Liga giants.
Alvarez joined Atletico from Manchester Metropolis for a price within the area of £82million in August 2024 and has impressed in his two years within the Spanish capital.
He scored 29 objectives in his first season on the membership and backed that up with one other 20 as Diego Simeone’s facet finished fourth in La Liga and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, beating Barca en path to the final 4.
