Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has said Julian Alvarez is "suffering" after a summer of transfer speculation linked him with moves to Barcelona and Arsenal. Alvarez has not started a match for Atletico this season after coming close to leaving the club, and he is in contention to feature in Wednesday's Champions League opener against Liverpool.
Transfer saga and squad status
Alvarez was understood to be pushing for a move to Barcelona and made no secret of his desire to quit Atletico. Arsenal had placed Alvarez high on their shortlist as Mikel Arteta tried to strengthen his front line, with sporting director Andrea Berta attempting to convince the former Manchester City forward to return to the Premier League.
Despite Barcelona offering more than £86million and fierce backlash from Atletico supporters, Diego Simeone's side kept hold of Alvarez beyond the transfer deadline. He has been named in the travelling squad for the Liverpool fixture and is anticipated to feature as a substitute.
President's assessment
Speaking hours before the game at Anfield, Cerezo provided an update on Alvarez's condition. In an interview with Spanish newspaper Sport, Cerezo said: "I see Alvarez in good shape, but the truth is that he is suffering after what happened recently, and that is a cause for concern."
He added: "I think his recovery is going well, and when the coach sees that the time is right, he will return to play. The Julian case is closed." Alvarez came off the bench in Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Athletic Club and has managed just 55 minutes of football all season.
Manager's perspective
Diego Simeone admitted he does not see Alvarez "starting yet". When asked about the forward in his pre-Liverpool press conference, Simeone said: "Julian is still developing; I don't see him starting yet, but he'll help us as the game progresses."
Regarding Atletico's other striking options, both Jonathan David and Alexander Sorloth are doubts, suggesting Lee Kang-in and Alex Baena could again be deployed up front. "Jonathan arrived very recently and couldn't play the other day [against Athletic Club] due to a problem," Simeone said. "[Sorloth's] recovering. He has this injury that's keeping him from playing. We need him; he's important, whether it's for 90, 60 or 20 minutes. He gives us things we don't have in the team right now. Hopefully, he'll be back soon."
Simeone added: "It's very important for the club that the final is at the Metropolitano. For us, we have to work incredibly hard to be able to aspire to that privileged position. We're in a growth phase, settling in; there are many new players, the situation with Julian, David's arrival at the end of the transfer window, the national team players who arrived late and nobody cares about them anymore. Little by little, we'll find our rhythm."
