‘Watch out!’ – Arsenal tipped for spectacular €150m Julian Alvarez transfer

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Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Arsenal are confident that they can fund a deal to sign Julian Alvarez as the Argentine grows increasingly unsettled at Atletico Madrid, Fabrizio Romano has declared.

Having gone public on his desire to leave Diego Simeone’s side earlier this summer, the former Manchester City striker has been told he is staying put by those in charge at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Barcelona remain interested in the striker while Real Madrid have already had a €150 million bid for the player rejected this summer, but Arsenal are getting ready to try their luck for the 26-year-old.

Current ETV

Julián Alvarez

F (C)

Atlético Madrid

Julián Alvarez

F (C)

Atlético Madrid

€93.4M

ETV Range

€84M - €102.7M

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Transfer insider Romano explained on his YouTube channel: “Arsenal financially believe internally they could afford a deal for Julian Alvarez.

“Especially if Gabriel Martinelli goes to Al-Hilal, and this deal is ongoing. The player is open to joining Al-Hilal. So Martinelli to Al-Hilal is possible.

“If Martinelli goes to Al-Hilal, it will be extra money for Arsenal. And so financially, Arsenal could afford a deal for Julian Alvarez. That's the feeling at the club.

“Even if the price is high, they believe they could strike an agreement with Atletico Madrid. The point is the player.

“The player, until today, never opened doors to Arsenal. But Arsenal are still there, following the situation. If Julian changes his mind, decides to open doors to England and to Arsenal, Arsenal are still there, still watching the situation.

“So still watch out for Arsenal and Julian until the end of this summer transfer window, in case the player changes his position.”

The Athletic reports that a deal may now be possible around the €150m mark, which would set a new Premier League record if Arsenal were to pull it off.

Broken relationship with Atletico

Alvarez has an increasingly fractured relationship with Atletico Madrid, where he has spent the first two matches of the season looking glum on the bench.

He earned some game time against Villarreal in a 2-2 draw on Sunday but failed to have a positive impact on the game.

After the match, when the players went to greet the fans, Alvarez went straight down the tunnel, having been jeered by the supporters so far this term. Head coach Diego Simeone claimed it was on the advice of the club for the player to do that.

Barcelona have primarily been courting the forward, who has made it clear that a switch to Camp Nou is his dream move.

The Blaugrana are still searching for a centre-forward following the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, though Atleti have repeatedly knocked back their advances, to such a degree that Romano has claimed that any transfer now would be a “miracle”.

Why the rift between Alvarez and Atleti is increasing

The tension stepped up a notch at the end of last week, when Atletico Madrid CEO Miguel Angel Gil claimed that Alvarez is being poorly advised, stating: “Atletico de Madrid, like all great clubs, is built with great players - and I'm certain that Julian is one, as well as a consummate professional. We must compete based on our values, with homegrown talent and the best players from outside that we can bring in.

“We cannot allow other clubs and their affiliated media to decide what we have to do, dictate our sporting strategy, and disrespect us. That's precisely what they're trying to do: divide us. It's clear we're not as powerful as they are, but we have values.

“We are going to help Julian and continue to take care of him so that he can give us his full potential, because we need him to continue competing among the best in Europe. We must understand that Julian has not had the best advisors around him regarding his professional career in recent months.”

Alvarez’s agent, Fernando Hidalgo, appears to have been left furious by Atletico Madrid’s public jab at him.

On his Instagram account, he responded with a message that read: “Never ask a liar why he lied, to explain it to you, he would have to lie again.”

What’s going to happen?

With a week left in the transfer window, Alvarez’s situation looks increasingly likely to end with a move simply because of the rift that has formed between him and the club.

However, Atleti may feel that because he still has four years to run on his contract at the Wanda Metropolitano, they are still in a position to demand a huge fee for the player. For that reason, a cut-price move is unlikely.

Publicly, Alvarez’s side are standing firm but with Arsenal and Barcelona both in the hunt for attacking options, a spectacular late deal cannot be ruled out.