Julian Alvarez has held a “marathon” meeting to discuss a move to Arsenal following talks with Mikel Arteta.
The Atletico Madrid striker is desperate to leave this summer, with his heart set on a move to Barcelona. Atletico are said to have told Alvarez that he must decide if he is staying or joining Arsenal by Sunday evening.
Barcelona's pursuit and Atletico's stance
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said this week that the club had not yet abandoned their pursuit of Alvarez, despite there being just a few days left of the transfer window.
“We’re keeping our hopes up and sticking to our plan — with all due respect to Atletico — of trying to sign him,” he told ESPN. “We would like to reach an agreement with Atletico; we are therefore standing by our proposal, our offer to Atletico, and hopefully there will be an understanding between the two clubs.”
Atletico responded with another sternly worded statement defending their decision not to sell to Barcelona. It read: “The members of Atletico de Madrid's Board of Directors have unanimously expressed their absolute support for the club's decision to not negotiate the transfer of Julián Alvarez to FC Barcelona.
“The members of the Board of Directors acknowledge that Atletico de Madrid is open to standard transfer market negotiations when conducted in a professional, ethical and respectful manner. We fully stand behind the club’s previously communicated position that FC Barcelona failed to meet these requirements and, as a result, there will not be any negotiation and there is zero consideration of an Alvarez transfer to Barcelona.”
Family meeting and limited options
The latest public back and forth between Atletico and Barcelona has prompted a five-hour meeting between Alvarez and his family and agents on Thursday evening, which reportedly dragged into the early hours of Friday morning.
According to Cadena SER, the meeting brought together his agent Fernando Hidalgo, members of the player's management team and his legal advisers as they considered the options available to the 26-year-old.
With Atletico unwilling to open talks with Barcelona, Alvarez's choices appear increasingly limited. One possibility is accepting Arsenal's offer and returning to the Premier League, despite his preference for a move to Barcelona. The other is attempting to repair his relationship with Atletico and remain at the Madrid club.
Crucial days lie ahead with both the Spanish and English top-flight transfer windows closing on Tuesday.
Arsenal's position
Atletico are said to be open to Alvarez joining Arsenal, should the player insist on an exit, and are expected to hold out for a fee of around £130million. There have been suggestions in Spain that Viktor Gyokeres could be part of any deal, while Gabriel Jesus — who is surplus to requirements — has also been linked with Atleti.
Speaking on Saturday morning, The Athletic’s David Ornstein confirmed that Atletico are open to talks but Arsenal would only advance negotiations if Alvarez decides he wants to join.
“At the time of reporting, there is a low chance that Julian Alvarez comes to Arsenal,” Ornstein told TNT Sports. “Atletico Madrid would do a deal with Arsenal. Arsenal are prepared to reach a club-to-club agreement, but they would want the player to want to join them.”
“Alvarez has shown no indication of wanting to join at this point. He’s spoken to Mikel Arteta and said that he doesn’t want to come. That could change, these situations are always movable, so I don’t want to say it won’t happen, but right now, it’s not developing.”
