Julian Alvarez door could be opening for Arsenal after latest Atletico Madrid transfer development
Arsenal are pursuing Julian Alvarez ahead of the summer transfer deadline.
The Argentine has always maintained he wants to move to Barcelona, but Atletico Madrid’s refusal to sell to their domestic rivals leaves the Premier League champions as his primary exit option.
He was whistled at by his own fans at the weekend, and his situation at the Metropolitano is borderline untenable.
Arsenal are waiting in the background patiently to see whether Alvarez can be convinced to return to England.
Now, a fresh development has emerged that could really unlock the door.
Atletico Madrid are targeting a striker amid Julian Alvarez exit saga
According to Fabrizio Romano, Atletico Madrid have made contact with Juventus about Jonathan David.
While there’s been no official bid or formal talks, they have made a call to ask about the conditions of a deal for the Canadian striker, who is available to leave Juventus for the right proposal.
Naturally, Arsenal fans are putting two and two together and assuming Atletico are planning for life without Julian Alvarez.
The relationship between the player and the fanbase is broken, and at this point might not be fixable. The fact that Diego Simeone is in the market for a striker suggests the Atletico manager realises this.
Internally, Arsenal believe they can agree a fee with Atletico, which is expected to be around £128million.
Andrea Berta could drive that price down considerably by offering Viktor Gyokeres as part of the deal.
The Swede would genuinely be great for Atletico; their style plays to his strengths, and he can rediscover that unstoppable goalscoring form.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta gets his top attacking target in the mould of a more technical, ruthless second striker profile.
If they can convince Alvarez to join late in the window, it would surely go down as the club’s biggest statement signing since Mesut Ozil.
With Atletico lining up David as a potential replacement, perhaps that door is opening wider.
