Arsenal maintain interest in Atlético Madrid’s Julián Álvarez and are waiting to pounce on the opportunity to sign him in January.
The Premier League winners showed keen interest in the striker in the summer window. He wanted to leave the La Liga side and had his heart set on joining Barcelona, who made their interest public.
However, Atlético refused to sell the Arsenal target to the Catalan club and even rejected an offer from Real Madrid. Barcelona were hoping for Diego Simeone’s side to give up in the end, but that didn’t happen.
Therefore, Barca sporting director Deco ended up signing Gabriel Jesus from the Gunners.
Arsenal couldn’t convince Álvarez
Towards the end of the window, Atlético Madrid were open to selling him while the north London club were the only option for Julián Álvarez.
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta and Mikel Arteta had held repeated talks with the 26-year-old. However, he only wanted Barcelona, while Fernando Hidalgo couldn’t secure a move. The Madrid club had requested him to cut ties with his agent.
The Argentina international has now parted ways with Hidalgo. Saturday’s print edition of Sport, while covering the latest, also reports about the Emirates club’s interest. He hasn’t scored or assisted after four matches this season.
He’s going through a ‘very delicate moment and wants to rebuild his image and try, with a new strategy, to leave Atlético’. To do this, the player is looking for a new agent. It could be his compatriot, Javier Pastore, who brokered Enzo Fernández’s sale to Manchester City.
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Every Arsenal signing 26/27 Nationality Previous Club Fee
Bruno Guimarães Brazil Newcastle United £75m
Ezri Konsa England Aston Villa £51m
Christos Tzolis Grecce Club Brugge £34m
Illan Meslier France Leeds United Free
Piero Hincapié Colombia Bayer Leverkusen £34.5m
Arsenal still lurking around
The South American’s new agent has to negotiate with Atlético Madrid to secure an exit that’s favourable for all parties. Sport suggests it would be in the Spanish club’s interest to sell him soon as his valuation is dropping at an alarming rate.
Barcelona are aware of the change of agents and haven’t made further advances so far.
A potential move isn’t ruled out because Hansi Flick values and likes Julián Álvarez, who is still keen on moving to the Camp Nou.
Behind the scenes, Arsenal ‘remain very interested’.
The Gunners would be happy to negotiate a swap deal involving Viktor Gyökeres with Diego Simeone’s side.
If Barca decided not to take further steps, it will be easier for the English club to conclude the operation. Otherwise, it remains a complicated operation for January.
Sport Witness