Arsenal in prime position to sign €150m Julian Alvarez

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Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Accredited football journalist and editor covering the game since 2006

Arsenal have been informed that they are now the only club capable of signing Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez, despite ongoing interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid for the World Cup-winning attacker.

Alvarez has been front and centre when it comes to transfer news early in the summer, with the Argentine seeking to leave Diego Simeone’s side.

Real Madrid went public when they had a €150 million bid for the player emphatically rejected by Atleti, who have also laughed off the suggestion that Barcelona are capable of meeting their demands for a player who scored 20 goals in 49 games for them last season.

Current ETV

Julián Álvarez

F (C)

Atlético Madrid

Julián Álvarez

F (C)

Atlético Madrid

€113M

ETV Range

€101.7M - €124.3M

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Arsenal ‘the only way out’ for Julian Alvarez

Arsenal are leading the way to sign Alvarez by a process of elimination, according to AS.

Barcelona are not prepared to bid more than €100m for the player, believing that Real Madrid’s rejected offer was little more than a ‘publicity stunt’ from their Clasico rivals. Given that Alvarez has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €113m, any bid around that range looks to be extremely optimistic.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, are focusing their attention on signing a defender and are not expected to revisit the deal imminently.

That leaves the Gunners, who are seen as the only serious solution for the former Manchester City attacker, with AS stating:

“The only way out for Julian Alvarez is Arsenal. The English club has both the interest and the money to sign the Argentine. It won't be easy, however. The Argentine international's continued presence at Atletico Madrid seems unlikely despite the club's management's insistence on keeping the striker.”

Analysis: Arsenal and Real Madrid offer good solutions

Arsenal are seen as a good solution for Alvarez in terms of his career development by SciSports – but a move to Real Madrid would be even better for him, the data analytics firm believes.

Its Career Advice tool uses a variety of metrics to analyse the likely impact of any transfer, providing a Club Fit score to capture this in one easy number. Arsenal score a strong 75 but Los Blancos hit an impressive 84.

In particular, Real Madrid’s playing style and formation is seen as more suitable to getting the best from the Argentine, although with Jose Mourinho arriving at the Bernabeu imminently to tear things up, this should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Barcelona may hold a strong interest in the attacker, but with a Club Fit of just 61 do not seem like a strong solution for him.

Fabrizio Romano on Alvarez’s future

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has also discussed the future of Alvarez, offering an alternative view of the situation, which echoes that coming from Spain.

Romano explained: “Real Madrid offered €150m for Julian Alvarez. But after Atletico Madrid publicly rejected the proposal with very strong statements, Real Madrid are not returning with a new bid as of today.

“It’s not a situation where Real Madrid offered €150m, Atletico said no and then another proposal immediately arrived.

“That process is not happening.”

“Real Madrid have taken note of Atletico’s response.

“We will see what happens in the coming days, weeks and months, but right now there is no new proposal communicated either to Atletico Madrid or to the player’s camp.”

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