Arsenal have reportedly stepped up their efforts to beat Liverpool in the race to sign Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez, as per Spanish outlet Marca .
The forward enjoyed a successful time at Manchester City, but was struggling to play regularly due to Erling Haaland’s presence. Therefore, he decided to leave ahead of this season, and Los Rojiblancos hired him by spending big money.
Alvarez has had a stellar debut campaign at Metropolitano Stadium this season, scoring 29 goals and registering seven assists in 54 appearances in all competitions.
Now, while translating the print version of Marca, Sport Witness report that Arsenal and Liverpool have been aroused by the South American’s impressive performances for Diego Simeone’s side this season. So, they are showing a strong interest in purchasing him.
Liverpool are seemingly busy finalising the Milos Kerkez and Florian Wirtz deal at the moment, after closing in on a move to purchase Jeremie Frimpong. So, Arsenal have intensified their efforts by ‘bidding hardest’ to sign Alvarez, outpacing the Reds in this race.
Arsenal’s new sporting director Andrea Berta hired Alvarez at Atletico Madrid last summer and is now prioritising signing him at Arsenal this year to bolster the frontline.
Battle
The forward currently earns around €7m-a-year in salary and Arsenal are ready to improve his wages. But the player is happy at Madrid and doesn’t want to return to the Premier League. Therefore, Arsenal or Liverpool will have to find a way to persuade him to join.
The Gunners currently have Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus as the centre-forward options. However, neither has managed to showcase that they have the ability to help Arteta’s side win big silverware.
On the other hand, Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota are the two strikers of Liverpool. But, while the South American couldn’t play regularly under Arne Slot this season, the Portuguese struggled with fitness problems.
Still, the Reds managed to win the Premier League title this season, and Luis Diaz, who likes playing out wide, helped them achieve that by playing in the centre-forward position.
Therefore, both teams could do with hiring a new No.9, and Alvarez would be a great coup as he is already a serial winner and is a prolific goal-scorer.