Arsenal handed Julian Alvarez boost as Atletico make Barcelona transfer stance clear

Arsenal may have been given extra hope of signing Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez after reports in Spain claimed there is “zero chance” he is sold to Barcelona.

Earlier this week, TEAMtalk reported that Arsenal are prepared to fork out £128million for the 26-year-old’s services this summer – which would surpass the £125m Liverpool paid to land Alexander Isak last summer.

We understand that the Spanish side are willing to listen to an offer for the Argentina international, who was loudly booed by his own fans in his side’s La Liga opener at the weekend.

This all came about after the former Manchester City striker said he wanted to “fulfil his dream” and make an eye-catching move back in late June, amid links with La Liga champions Barcelona.

TEAMtalk previously revealed that Atletico had no intention of selling Alvarez to one of their biggest rivals in the Spanish top flight, and now similar reports are coming out of Marca, too.

The Spanish outlet reports that Atletico, and not Alvarez, are the victims of this transfer saga, and they are being made to suffer “economically and socially”.

Marca’s alleged sources at Atletico state, “The player is being victimised, but the only victim of the Julián case is us. They have harmed us economically and socially.

“There is 0% chance of selling him to Barça. This situation is not about money, it is about dignity. A campaign has been created with many lies and half-truths. The only one who pays this is Atletico.”

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Barcelona president not giving up on Julian Alvarez

While it seems Arsenal have a better chance of recruiting the Argentine than Barcelona, Blaugrana president Joan Laporta is keeping his fingers crossed on this matter.

He stated that the Liga champions are very keen on signing Alvarez, while stressing he has “great respect” for Atletico. Laporta also said he has been in talks with CEO Miguel Angel Gil about a possible deal, but hasn’t got too far.

He said, via Marca, “We are still very interested in Julián Álvarez. We would like them to accept our offer, and we are doing so with the utmost respect for Atlético de Madrid. We would like to understand each other.

“I want to say that we have great respect for Atletico Madrid and its leaders. We have known each other for many years. I want to explain how it went. We made a club-to-club offer. I ratified this offer in a personal telephone conversation with Miguel Ángel Gil.

“They told me that they had no intention of selling because they had no alternative to Julián and I told them that we were interested, but that we respected that they did not want to sell, although if they found an alternative within this market, we were interested in making the signing.”

It remains to be seen if Alvarez will stay put this summer window or if Arsenal, or Barcelona, will pull off a late swoop.

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