Atletico Madrid have reportedly approached Arsenal about one of their forwards as the Julian Alvarez transfer saga takes another significant turn.
Mikel Arteta is known to want more firepower in his squad, with Alvarez his primary target after failed moves for Morgan Rogers and Vinicius Junior. However, the transfer has proven difficult to complete, as Atletico are demanding a fee of €150million (£128m) for their star player.
Alvarez has so far shown reluctance to move to Arsenal, preferring a switch to Barcelona, but Atletico have made it clear they will not sell to their La Liga rivals.
Fan backlash and absence
The Madrid club’s stance has been to keep hold of the 26-year-old, but events over the last week appear to have changed that. Alvarez was loudly jeered and booed by Atletico supporters during the draw with Villarreal last weekend and made a hasty exit from the stadium at full-time.
The Argentina international has not reported for training for the past few days, citing illness, and reports suggest he is now open to joining the Gunners as it presents his only chance of leaving Madrid.
Possible replacements identified
Spanish outlet Fichajes report that Atletico are now preparing for life without Alvarez and have identified two possible replacements: Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus and Igor Jesus of Nottingham Forest.
Gabriel Jesus has been told he is free to leave the Emirates this summer, with Napoli holding talks over a transfer, but he has so far shown a reluctance to move away. Arteta recently revealed that the 29-year-old was training away from Arsenal’s first-team due to ‘the numbers in the squad’.
Fellow Brazilian Igor Jesus only moved to the City Ground last summer, scoring 16 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions in his debut season. The striker is a player Atletico have tried to sign before, and Forest are considering selling him following the arrival of Liam Delap from Chelsea in a deal worth £45m.
Decision expected this weekend
It is said the Spanish side have made a formal enquiry to Arsenal regarding their player and are set to decide over the weekend which Jesus to pursue.
Arsenal will look to keep their winning start to the season going when they host Aston Villa on Sunday, with transfer deadline day on Tuesday, September 1.
