Barcelona's 'dream' Julian Alvarez alternative revealed

17 Jun 2026 17:03 BST | 4 min read

Suraj Radia | Editor

Barcelona are still ‘obsessed’ with signing Julian Alvarez this summer but the La Liga giants have outlined alternatives to the Atletico Madrid striker, with three intriguing names on their shortlist.

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Atletico are adamant they will not sell Alvarez this summer, particularly not to a rival after rejecting a €150 million offer from rivals Real Madrid earlier this month.

Current ETV

Julián Álvarez

F (C)

Atlético Madrid

Julián Álvarez

F (C)

Atlético Madrid

ETV Range

€101.7M - €124.3M

However, according to SPORT, Barcelona still believe they can ‘seduce’ Atletico into a deal worth €135m plus €15m in add-ons, particularly with Alvarez desperate to move to the Catalan side.

Barca will continue to ‘put everything’ on signing Alvarez this summer, although Atletico would be more open to the Argentine leaving Spain for Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain in order to avoid selling to a rival.

Arsenal are understood to still be keen on signing Alvarez and some reports in Spain have even suggested a move to North London is a ‘done deal’, although those claims are wide of the mark.

Alvarez is not thought to favour a return to the Premier League and would instead prefer to stay in Spain and join Barcelona, although Hansi Flick’s side are preparing alternative options with Atletico still unwilling to open their stance over a deal.

Barcelona name three alternatives to Julian Alvarez

Barcelona had initially considered Joao Pedro their top alternative option to Alvarez but Chelsea’s asking price of more than €100m, combined with their reluctance over a sale, were deemed as ‘insurmountable obstacles’ for the Catalans.

Instead, Harry Kane is described as ‘the other big dream’ and ‘nobody is bothered’ at Barcelona of the Bayern Munich star being 33 given his excellent form.

© IMAGO - Harry Kane is Barcelona's 'dream' alternative to Julian Alvarez.

Kane had a release clause, believed to be worth around €65m, in his contract but that has now expired and Bayern are determined to hand their star man a new deal, with his current one set to expire next summer.

Eli Kroupi is another player ‘gaining popularity every day’ with club officials and, while Barcelona feel a deal would represent a risk for such a young talent, the ‘exorbitant’ €100m asking price hasn’t deterred the likes of Arsenal or PSG.

However, of all players, Real Sociedad’s Mikel Oyarzabal is deemed as ‘the most reasonable bet’ after reaching his ‘full footballing maturity’ in recent seasons.

The 29-year-old has a release clause of €75m and, having netted a career-high 15 goals in La Liga last season, Barca see Oyarzabal as a ‘good fit’ who may end up becoming the new number nine for Flick.

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